Harry Potter and the Last Summer
by Dave the L's gal
Summary: Takes place after Half Blood Prince. Just the summer right now, but might change. At least the last stay at the Dursleys and the wedding. GH, RHr, RLNT, and FB
1. The Last Summer

**Harry Potter and The Last Summer**

**Chapter One:** One Last Visit

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. It's all the hands of God or Buddha or the universe, depends on your theory…

(singing and doing a very bad break dance) Guess whos back, back again? I am back! tell your friend...or ya mamma!

Well, I finally came up with an idea for a new fanfiction! Yay me! (claps)...sorry...to much little kid shows lately...

For the beginning its just in the summer after seventh year, but it may go on. It depends if I can get enough ideas to write a full length seventh book story. After reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince I decided not to write a seventh year fanfiction. I mean, writing a sixth year one is hard enought, but then it got _really_ complicated! But, I might go on. Depends if anyone likes it. **(A/N...everytime theres perentheses and they are bolded, that means its an Arthurs Note. It makes it easier to read, but sometimes I forget to put A/N)**

Anyways, R&R!

—

"Harry, dear?" A kind, soft voice that was obviously Mrs. Weasley's drew Harry back to focus.

"What?" He said looking up. A piece of his messy black hair fell into his face. He pushed it out to show the thin red lightning bolt scar on his forehead. **(I'm sorry, if you don't know this, you shouldn't be here!) **Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley and a Ministry official were squeezed into the back of a Ministry borrowed car. To avoid awkwardness Ginny and Hermione sat in the back, whispering and occasionally giggling, though both Ginny and Hermione didn't seem that into it. Ron and Harry obviously had other things on their mind: love, horcuxes, and the headmaster's sudden death were the main few.

When Mrs. Weasley spoke Harry looked out the window and realized they were turning into Privet Drive and that they would since reach Number Four. "Oh." He grabbed his trunk and was about to open the door when Mrs. Weasley's warm voice spoke again.

"No, Harry dear. I'm not saying to leave…" She gave a glance at the Ministry official who thankfully—showing the rare gift of a heart that few Aurors had anymore—turned on the radio to a modern station and leaned in so he could block out the conversation. "I was wondering if you really wanted to go back. Now that he's dead, I'm sure it will be okay for you to stay with us, you'll probably be safer there."

For a moment he thought of abandoning the Dursley's and stayingat the Burrowfor the rest of the summer before going on that lonely journey…But that reminded him that he had to stay with his muggle relatives. He was 'Dumbledore's man through and through,' he thought with a smile. _I need to do this,_ he thought, _just one more summer, one more time. I need to make sure his death isn't in vain...that Snape nor Voldemort get away unscarred._

"Harry?" Now everyone except for the auror was staring at him—but he swore he saw him look up—and he realized he was making a face of pure spite when he thought of Dumbledore's death.

With a smile he grabbed Hedwig and his trunk again, "No thanks, Mrs. Weasley. I have to do this, just one more time. It was Dumbledore's wish…" Everyone's eyes diverted each other. He knew this was good as time as any to jump out of the car. "BYE!" He yelled, knowing that Hermione and Ron wouldn't follow since they agreed that they would get enough of each other through out the year and that, just in case something went wrong—which made Harry's heart stop beating when he thought about it—that they would regret not spending all the time they could with their parents. Hermione was a little upset about this. It seemed as the years added up her and her parents didn't get along. They never dropped the dream of her being a dentist.

Yells filled the air with bye's and see you later's as he rung the door bell of that house. "Wait just a minute!" Aunt Petunia's false, cheery voice rang through the air. She opened the oak door and her very fake smile dropped, "It's you. You're back early." Harry could tell that every inch of her wanted to lock the door shut, but the warning of the Order members and Dumbledore's visit still ran strong in her mind since she walked away from the door, leaving it open. The black haired boy turned around and waved at the car. The blue vehicle soon drove away, and Harry turned into the house to stay in it for, hopefully, the last time of his life. With that thought in his mind and a smile on his head he ran to his room

Hedwig gave out a mad screech when the slamming door interrupted her sleep. After coaxing the snow white bird, he started unpacking his possessions when Uncle Vernon entered the room, slamming the door even harder. "You're here early." He growled. Vernon was defiantly angry, yet his face was not purple but white. He also didn't forget the visit of the powerful wizard.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "Someon—I mean, something happened. We had to end it early. Won't really be here for long, I'll be out on my birthday…July thirty-first." He finished when it seemed evident that his Uncle didn't know.

His Uncle's lipped curled, "Yes, it's my unfortunate fate to know when your birthday is." He turned red, like he was just thinking of all the problems Harry caused.

A slim,blackeyebrow raised into his forehead, disappearing into even more black hair. He turned with his hand in his pocket, grasping his wand. _I think Uncle Vernon needs a reminder…_, "Well, Uncle Vernon, it _will _be my seventeenth birthday…you know, when I'm fully legal in the wizarding world." He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the large man's chin.

Harry's uncle snorted, "You can't do magic out of school. Not until your birthday. July twelve or what not."

"Counting the days, uncle Vernon. Counting the days." This finally grasped his uncle and he turned through the door without another word. Harry went back to his packing. _It's the last visit…the last visit_.

* * *

So...how did you like it? I spent forever on it!...Not really...I wrote it all today after finally thinking of an idea to start it out. So please tell me how you feel. Constructive critism, please. Once someone called mea ct for no reason. I like _intelligent _reviews, not stupid cussed out accusations. 


	2. Bonding and Bras?

**Harry Potter and the Last Summer**

Yo and hello my homies!

Yeah…I'm the farthest thing from gangster…

Sorry I've taken forever! Between being sickie, busy, and just plain lazy (hahha…poet and I didn't even know it!) I haven't had time to update. REAL sorry.

Anyways, I thank:

RussianDancer: I love getting good reviews (nudge, nudge, wink, wink.) I think I'll go back to my bribery of a chocolate chip muffin for my good reviewers…yeah…that sounds fair. But I take requests, too. ;)

Lunaterra: I'm guessing your name is from moon earth in Spanish…just thought of that…thank you for the review! I can't get started about _Wicked_ or _Rent_ or any musical unless you want me to go on forever…Thanks for the review, too!

**Warning:** F-word is used a few times…along with it in sign language. Contains huge amounts of sap and cheese and corn. Underwear is provided. Fleur might be OOC from what we see her as. I would appreciate not getting flames for that, since I warned you in advance. Most people of the male race (I don't know how many are on anyways) might not like this chapter—title below describes it all—so, if any male or female feels uncomfortable reading about nunga nunga holders (hahahaha…read all of the Georgia Nicolson books within a week again! LOVE IT MORE! THAN EVER BEFORE!) Then they can just skip on merrily to after the story while I teach some sign language or they can read the rest of the ending author's note. Or not read this chapie…or story…

**Chapter Two: **Bonding and Bras!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter…What? What did you expect? Did you think I was going to yell that I'm J.K. Rowling and I own everything?...I also don't own the references I make to one of my favorite movies ever, _Slums of Beverly Hills_ or another favorite, _Clueless!_...Wish I did, though…Don't own my friend, Heather, who has hair somewhat like Elle's and is a lot like I made Gabrielle to be…Nor do I own this Ethel Merman quote (that Irving, I think, wrote) _singing_ Let's go on with the show!

—

**Narrator's POV, Following Ginny**

Ginny sat in her room and sighed. They had just dropped off Hermione and Harry at their houses, and now she was alone in her room. _Maybe I can lie down and think about this mess before _Phlegm_ ruins it…_Her eyes gradually closed as she lay down on her bed, red hair flowing behind her back.

Right before Ginny almost reached a subconscious state, she heard the door opening. Two girls were jabbering angrily in French. Ginny sighed and sat up, expecting a mini Fleur but she was shocked by what she saw.

Fleur continued to angrily jabber in French to Gabrielle. She tossed back silvery, blond hair to show Ginny perfect skin and pink lips. Gabrielle was different, though…her hair was cut around her shoulders in many layers. It was died medium brown with bits of dark red and gold adding more depth to it (Ginny was sure since last time she saw her she was as blond as her sister) and her tips and under layers were black, too. Black eyeliner, smoky eye shadow, and mascara surrounded her eyes. Red, shiny lip-gloss was smeared over her full mouth. She had low riding black pants with a black belt and a black shirt, tight on her thin waist, that said "I'm not with stupid…we broke up." **(I gave my above mentioned friend Heather that shirt for Christmas since this jackass broke up with her…everyone knew it was about him! Her's was gray, not black.)** The look was topped with no shoes, black nail polish on her feet and hands, and a black cuff wristband. They both shone with grace and beauty, and even though Gabrielle was shorter than Ginny and Fleur wasn't much taller, they held themselves to make them look five ten. **(Like Cindy Crawford…you know…Clueless.)**

Ginny groaned loudly, knowing that it would be impossible to live with them, and fell onto her stomach, praying God to strike them with a lightning bolt. This made her a little upset, thinking back that just a few weeks ago she had touched a scar shaped like that with both her own forehead and her hand…

Fleur and Gabrielle finally noticed her after this, since Fleur came over and pulled her up. She gave one look at her and bright, blue eyes became wide with shock. "Oh my! You 'ave been dumped, no?"

Now Ginny's hazel eyes widened. _I don't want anyone—especially not _her_—to know! I even made Ron promise to not tell anyone, unless he wanted Hermione to see his naked baby pictures…I don't want people angry at Harry. And I_ know_ that my brothers and father would make a big deal of it!_ "No." She tried replying as simply as she could, but it made she sounded more like she was upset than anything else.

Fleur turned to her sister. "Gabrielle, pleeze…why zon't you help Mrz. Weazley in ze keethcen." Gabrielle looked like she was going to object, but Fleur gave her a glare worthy of Ginny's mom and Gabrielle left without another word…but not before she said "Go fuck a tree" in sign language1, making Ginny giggle.

Fleur looked up at Ginny with crystal blue eyes. "Eet's okay, Geenny. I'm going to bee your seester. Zere is nozing you can't tell me." Ginny was shocked…_is she _serious_? Fleur, Phlegm, this…this_ person _who tortured me last summer? _Ginny refused to say anything and stayed silent. Fleur got up from her spot on the floor and started leaving, "Well…I guezz I weel help our muzer in ze keetchen…" Ginny felt bad when she noticed Fleur's eyes were even shiner than normal.

"Wait!" Ginny called after her. Fleur stopped dead in her tracks. "Yes, someone broke up with me…but I'm okay…I think…" Fleur turned around, smiled, and jumped. She ran over to Ginny's twin bed and hugged her, ruffling her hair.

"Eet'z okay, Geenny. Eef 'e dumped you, zan zat ees hees problem, not yours!" Fleur seemed more excited that she was accepted by Ginny than upset that Ginny just went through a break-up.

"What do you do when this happens?"

"Seelly! Eet hasn't 'appened to me!" Ginny felt like kicking her. "Oh sorry! Bill told me I needed to vork on zis…let's see…that never happened because I never found ze right one unteel I met Beell, so I broke eet up before it got to serious!" She moved over to sit by Ginny and started playing with her hair. "Eef eet ees right, he weel come back to you. Eef eet's not, zan I'm sure you'll find someone new like zat!" She snapped her fingers to show the quickness of it.

The two young women sat in silence, Fleur playing with Ginny's flaming red hair, the girl the hair belonged to dropped her head on Fleur's shoulder. She thought _Wow! She's actually somewhat human!_

"Fleur, honey, the tiara came! Come and try it on!" Yelled Mrs. Weasley. Fleur and Ginny were put back into the real world. Ginny lifted her head up and Fleur stood up. Before the part-Veela could leave, Ginny thanked her for helping.

Fleur smiled kindly, "Eet was no problem. I'm glad to help…want to see zees tiara with moi?" Fleur asked.

_Why not? She's better than I imagined._ Ginny thought to herself. "Sure, I'd love to see it." With that the two women walked down the stairs together.

"Zees ees my seester, Gabrielle," Fleur gestured to the anti-Fleur.

"Call me Elle, pleeze." Gabrielle grumbled, glaring at Fleur. It was self-evident to Ginny that she had told her she wanted to go by that before.

"And zees eez," Fleur started, ignoring her sister, "my muzer." There was no doubt they were related. They looked exactly the same—if Mrs. Delacour wasn't even more beautiful, but then she was half-Veela and Fleur was only one fourth—except for the crows' feet around Fleur's mom's eyes, and her laugh lines. While some women looked older with wrinkles, she seemed…elegant.

"And last but not least, my fazer!" When she introduced him, Fleur made it obvious she looked up to her dad more. He looked completely different from his family. Brown, chestnut hair covered his head, chocolate eyes shone beady under bushy eyebrows. He was fairly tall and had a strong, muscular build. "Everyone, zees is my soon to bee seester, Geenny!"

Ginny gave them a wave. "Hi, Elle, Mrs. And Mr. Delacour," Giving them each a little nod. Fleur's dad laughed a loud, rumbling laugh.

"Please, we're going to be family soon. Call me Henri." **(OMG! I didn't even realize that 'call me Henri' was from Georgia Nicolson!)** Fleur's dad said. He had a strong, British accent, which was puzzling. You'd think that since he lived near France with his family that he'd have a French accent like them.

Before she could pursue the matter further, Henri's wife said, "And pleeze call me Camille." **(You should feel blessed at how much work I put into these names! I went on a baby names website and found out Fleur, like I assumed, means "flower" in French and Gabrielle is "hero of God" in Hebrew. I decided to find good French names for her parents, and Camille means "virginal, unblemished character" which is what I wanted Camille to think of herself as. They're all named to seem higher than others and prettier, except Henri.)**

Fleur turned to Ginny. "Tomorrow we're going to try on ze dresses for ze wedding!"

"Have fun."

"Silly, you are coming! I want to check zat ze gold lookz good weeth your great red hair!"

"And we 'ave to check zat ze dress feet you, too." Camille said.

"Muzer, we 'ad measurements taken last summer!"

"Zings change, Fleur…waists, legs, height, breasts…" Eyeing Ginny's 36 Cs, making herself cross her arms.

Before Ginny could grumble that she _hoped_ that her breasts hadn't grown more, for every time she tried to talk to the male morons at her school they would stare at her chest, her mom walked in.

"There you two are! Here, try this on, Fleur." She handed the goblin made tiara to her future daughter-in-law. Fleur turned to the mirror near her and made sure it was on right before turning around.

"'Ow does eet look?" She asked, though it was blatant that it looked remarkable. The tiara was white gold with pearls sparkling at the points, and it made her already brilliant hair shine brighter.

Everyone chimed in on how good it looked as she politely smiled. They were discussing the wedding until a timer went off that snapped Mrs. Weasley back to the present.

"That's dinner. Go ahead and sit down at the table. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Get Ron, Ginny."

_This will be an interesting summer…_

—

"GEEEEEEENNY" Fleur whispered. "GEEEENNY, vee need to go to ze wardrobe shop…GEEEEENNY!" She finally yelled.

Ginny sat straight up and turned to Fleur, "Wha?"

Fleur was already dressed—surprisingly enough in muggle clothing—in jeans and a white silk shirt. "Geet up. Eeven Gabrielle ees getting dressed! UP!"

"ELLE!" Yelled Gabrielle from the bathroom.

An hour and a half later Ginny was in _David's Bridal_ **(ha…don't know if that's everywhere, but I see commercials for it all the time here.) **with a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and her long, red hair in a ponytail. Her eyes were coated with green eye shadow and a thick coat of black mascara, intense red lipstick covered her mouth. She wasn't even going to put on make-up if Fleur didn't persist that she needed to have an idea on which make-up would match herself and the dress. Ginny was waiting for Fleur to come out of the dressing room so they could marvel how she looked.

Ginny looked at her surroundings. _Very…muggle, _she thought to herself. Everything was electronic or manual, nothing by magic. Even though she wasn't as into Muggles as her dad, she liked them none the less, she had to restrain herself from touching every button she saw. _I would _much_ rather be in a wizard shop for this, but _no_, we have to go to a _muggle_ shop since "Ze are so much better zan ze wizard onez for weddings!" I feel so uncomfortable here, I feel like I'm hiding myself. I don't like it_. _But then I hate going to shops—muggle or not—all together…_

The red-head tried to keep her mind off the matter by watching Elle, who was watching the muggle equipment with wide eyes. Then Elle realized that Ginny was watching her joyful examination so she looked around quickly and started to read a _Company_ from a few moths ago **(HA! I actually know a British magazine! I read one issue once!)**. Ginny started to concentrate on her gum. _Pop…Pop…Pop…Pop…_

"So, girls, vat do you zink of zees dress?"

_Pop…_

Fleur came out in a white, spaghetti strap dress. It hugged every curve and straight edge spot of her body like it was skin. The dress was silk with a cloth on top of it, flowers carved into the middle section. A graceful train of lace flowed off the back, just a few feet off the dress. With the tiara on top, the veil on top of her face, she looked like a priceless, antique doll.

Ginny gaped. They say you aren't supposed to compete with the bride at the wedding, but how could anyone with a dress like that? And more importantly, with a bride like that? "You look beautiful, Fleur. Seriously."

Fleur beamed at her. She obviously wanted to hear that, which you couldn't blame her; Camille was very critical.

Not a second passed before both the of the moms started to inspect her and make sure that everything was perfect, not that it could get more perfect than it already was. After passing inspection of both the mothers of the soon to be wed and the seamstress

"Time for you girls to try yours on," Mrs. Weasley cried happily to Ginny and Elle. Elle jumped up, excited to do something.

"Vait, vait! I need to geet out of zees zing first!" Fleur shrieked from the dressing room.

A few minutes later Fleur came out in her original outfit and her hair, like Ginny's, in a high ponytail. She shoved the dress to her mom and sat down, upset. _Now _there's_ a mood swing I didn't predict._

As Camille went over to help Elle to find her dress and Mrs. Weasley went by the dressing room door, Fleur leaned over and whispered, "Eet felt a leetle tight. I 'ope I don't gain more weight before ze wedding."

Ginny was astonished at her soon to be sister's sudden self-conscious attitude when she finally realized why. Gabrielle was a little twig—she had the perfect "crack addict" look down that was so popular at this point in time—and her mom had almost no meat on her body. Being surrounded by them again must have made her hate her curvaceous body.

"Don't worry," Ginny whispered back, "You know, I read in Teen Witch that guys like curves over the whole 'crack addict" look." It was true; that same article was one of the ones she saved in a scrap book she had—she refused to call it a diary or journal after her second year—for the days she was down on her own curves.

Fleur didn't say anything, but she brightened up a lot and gave Ginny's hand a grateful squeeze.

No sooner had they finished talking that Gabrielle entered the room. She spun mockingly in the room with a gold cloth dress hung up with spaghetti straps. Rhinestones formed a rectangle in the center of the area right under her chest. Like Fleur, she looked like a goddess.

Fleur laughed her pretty laugh, stood up and spun Elle around in her arms. "Eet feets you like a glove! Let's geet eet off so Geenny can try hers on!" Elle got down on her knees and bowed down to her yelling "yes master!" When Camille gave her a stern look she got up but hunched her left shoulder to make it look like she had a hunchback. Ginny couldn't help but laugh.

Fleur sat back down next to Ginny. Ginny had to ask, since she never knew before, "Fleur, what's it like being the oldest? What's it like being a sister in general?"

Fleur thought about this for a moment. "It'z very…hard to explain. Being a sister is like 'aving you a best friend living with you. I am sure you feel sometimes zat 'Ermione ees your seester, no?" Ginny nodded, who wouldn't when they pretty much spent all their summer with them? "Eet ees just like zat. Eet's a great feeling. Hopefully you'll feel that way about me someday." Fleur looked at Ginny, expectantly.

For a moment she thought about this. Ginny thought Fleur could use some positive comments. She finally spoke, ignoring the fact that she knew it was really cheesy, "You know what? From what I've heard, about sisters getting along one minute and fighting the next and all that stuff…I think I already do."

Fleur's eyes filled with tears of joy as she smiled. "Zank you, Geenny!" She hugged the red-head around her neck. Ginny pat her back, aghast by this sudden show of emotion.

The dressing room door opened and they broke apart. "Your turn, Ginny." Their mom called out. She seemed a little tired, all ready having to deal with Fleur and Elle.

"The moment of truth," Ginny mumbled under her breath so only Fleur could here. She giggled a little as Ginny stood up and walked over to the dressing room. She closed the door behind her to find the dress was already there.

Ginny stripped down to her underwear and a bra…_why in the world did she choose today to wear a black one?_ _It looks like I grabbed an old one, too…parts of me are spilling out of the top! _She looked at the dress; it was on a hanger with a plastic covering over it. Simple enough, but Ginny's heart still pounded and her stomach did a flip. _I _hate_ trying on new stuff! I'm always afraid it won't fit!_ Though she was barely a size six, she—like all teenaged girls—had a problem with her body image.

_Chill, girl_, a reasonable part of her said, _you'll fit. And if you don't, then they'll fix it so you do! I hope so…_ said her self-conscious side. With a deep breath she took of the plastic wrapping. _Just like Elle's, but I can hold it up by myself, so there's no straps on it. _She grimaced. Taking another deep breath she unzipped it and carefully started to pull it on.

"Geenny, are you all right?" Fleur's concerned voice rang through the hall. She had a right to be worried. Ginny had spent about five or ten minutes.

"Uh…yeah…is everyone still there?" She called out. _Please let them be gone, please let them be gone!_

"No, Gabrielle wanted to look at Hot Topic so only our muzer and I are here."

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. Camille was too critical to have to show how it came out on her. "Okay, I'll come out…"

Ginny just took a step out of the dressing room to find Fleur right outside and her mom in a chair. _She's not worried. She knows what's wrong!_ She wanted to spit at her for this, this…monstrosity of a body!

Everything on the dress was fine at first. It flared out at the bottom, not showing any feet which would be perfect when she put on the high-heeled shoes. It clung perfectly to her waist, just like Fleur's wedding dress had done. But above that was the problem. It ended right at the middle of her breasts, leaving most of her bra exposed.

Ginny wanted to cry. _Why do _I_ have to have this body? I can't believe I wanted it when I was younger!_

By that point her mom had come over. She was laughing a little. "So it's official, you carried on the Weasley gene. It's normal for our family, dear. Your aunt, grandmother, even your cousins have big boobs."

"MO-OM!" She whined, the whole shop could've heard her mother going on!

Fleur knew that she was upset. "Eet ees okay, Geenny. We'll just geet the seamstress to help us fix it." But that upset Ginny more.

After calming down she whispered, "Could you at least bring her here?" She didn't want anyone who was getting their dresses to see the dress she was wearing.

"Of course, Ginny. We'll just have to be here, too." Mrs. Weasley said before running off to get the seamstress. Fleur turned back to her and gave her a sisterly hug; Ginny put her head into her soon to be—no, her _sister's_ shoulder. **(Gah…Am I the sappiest person ever or what?)**

Moments later the seamstress, Alice by the nametag, was there followed by Mrs. Weasley. Alice had coal black hair paired with light green eyes. When Fleur let go of her and she took her head of her shoulder, Alice made a face, her pink small lips grimacing. "This will require some work."

Ginny was shocked to see that Alice pulled out a wand. "I-I thought this was a Muggle shop!"

Mrs. Weasley chuckled. "Do you really think we would go to an all muggle store? It takes _far_ too long to get things done. Alice here is a friend of Bill's from his grade. She offered to do the dresses for free. Bill and her were _really_ close." Alice turned pink on her fair skin after she said that.

"I wish someone told _me_." She mumbled as Alice made measurements all around her chest and looked around her back.

"Hmmm….Lift up your arms, Ginny." Alice kindly asked. Ginny did as she was told.She could feel the light green eyes blazing into her chest. _It's like I'm on display!_

"Just what I thought," Alice grabbed the fabric she carried with her, and with her wand she cut it up and muttered a spell under her breath. Ginny felt the magic running through her as the fabric meshed together to make the dress fit. She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to run into the dressing room when Alice stopped her.

"Wait, there's more. You might want to sit for this." She drew up a chair for Ginny and she sat down, confused on what was going on. "I believe you grew and you didn't expect to or you just want to hide it." It was clear that Alice didn't want to say this to her. "But, your bra size says 36 C. I did some measurements. You're a 36 D now."

Now Ginny was closer to tears than before. _This is _horrible! A few tears actually escaped her eyes and she could feel Fleur and her mom's hand on her back as well as Alice's hand on her arm.

"I have a friend at the Victoria Secret a few stores over. Her name's Sandy. Tell her I sent you and that I want the pay from my account. You won't have to pay anything… buy whatever you want!…She'll help you find the right sizes. If it's a little off then she'll fit it. She's a witch, too." She was about to walk out the door when she turned around and smiled, "Look on the bright side. You're the envy of the average teenage girl. Good luck, God speed, and tell Bill I said hi!" Alice left the room and didn't look back.

"Geenny, you're mom left. Are you ready to go to thees shop?"

Ginny wanted to scream in aggravation over this mess. "Sure. Just give me a second, I need to get my shoes back on." Ginny left the dressing room with tears in her eyes, arms over her chest, slouching to try to hide it. Fleur engulfed her in another hug, almost as well as her moms.

"Oh, Geenny, eet'll be okay. You'll see. And zon't worry, the right boy will love you for your heart size, not your bra size."

Ginny pulled her head away and wiped off her tears. "You're right. I'm just being silly. Let's go by some bras!" She laughed and Fleur joined her and they walked out of the door arm in arm.

_No surprise mom didn't come_, Ginny thought, _She's been through this a lot with me. With my first bras when I was ten—one of those training ones—my second set when I moved up to an A cup, my third when I reached a C cup, and she even bought me sports bras when I told her I wanted to go out for Chaser on the Quidditch team._

They stepped into Victoria's Secret for the very first time. The walls around them were dark pink and the air smelled of sweet, flowery perfume. Baskets were there with markings of prices and the sale's percent off. Every thing was in an organized manner, the check-out counter at the center of the back wall. The two sisters looked around, wondering where everyone was until a woman came from behind them.

"Are ya'll finding everything all right?" She asked unexpectedly causing both girls to jump, especially with the random Southern accent. They turned around to see a woman almost six feet tall with blue almond eyes. Her hair was golden blonde, longer than Fleur's but shorter than Ginny's, highlights weaved through. She had wide-ish hips and a big breast size. On top of her Victoria's Secret black dress suit was a tag reading 'Sandy' in block-typed words.

"Zo, you are ze Zandy." Fleur started to say, "We need to buy her some bras," She pushed Ginny up before continuing, "Um…Alize sent us."

Sandy's eyes became wider with understanding. She looked left to right before whispering, "Come with me." Sandy took Ginny's hand, dragging her to a room in the back while Fleur followed. On the front of the door it read 'Manager's Office' and inside was a simple desk. A lone calendar set up at the wrong month hung up in the back. Ginny and Fleur sat in two chairs in front of the desk.

"So, I assume one of you is getting married and one of you goes to Hogwarts."

"Yeah…I'm Ginny; this is Fleur—the one who's getting married to my brother Bill."

Sandy smiled big. "Ah…Alice told me about Bill…it's not everyday that she sends me clients. Then it's always for free, I owe her so much…but let me get my tape measurer to measure ya'll."

"So, Ginny, what kind of bra do you want?" Sandy asked; a tape measure around her neck. The measurement seemed to take hours when she wrapped it around her.

"A normal one. I just don't want it to point." Ginny mumbled. **(Ha! I'm doing a _total_ Slums of Beverly Hills parody. If you haven't watched it, rent it! It's one of the best movies ever! Go Natasha Lyonne!) **

Sandy frowned before handing her a white lace tester from behind her. "Try this one on first to see if it's right."

Ginny stepped to the side and turned her back to the women. Moments later turned around, her hands over her chest again. "It's pointy!" She exclaimed.

Sandy grabbed her hands so she could see it. Indeed it was. "You need to put yourself into it. You see, you lean forward," Ginny followed, "Grab one and lift it a bit, and put it back in. Then do the same for the other one." As Ginny did this it started to fill it in right, so she turned around again as Sandy got more of different colors and styles for her to try on. When she got back she whispered, "Look! You're a natural D!"

Ginny went in the dressing room and started putting on another one. "There's nothing natural about it."

"You should consider yourself lucky. A lot of girls have two different sizes; have to get them specially made. Costs a lot of money," She sighed as Fleur finished for her.

"You have a beautiful gift, Geenny. Breaztz are wonderful." Fleur laughed out.

"EWW," Ginny mock-yelled as she spun out dressed in yet another bra. Soon she was on the floor laughing. Fleur was standing in front of her…everything was normal…except she had black-lace lingerie—bra and thong—over her clothes.

Fleur did that since she knew it would make Ginny laugh, but then she got tired of her going on and on. "You know, I waz zinking about using zis for your brozer after ze wedding." And Ginny immediately stopped laughing and made a face, making Sandy and Fleur laugh.

"I'm going to try the rest on now! Shut up!" She added after they laughed even harder.

The whole "crew" were walking up to the house after Fleur, Mrs. Weasley, and Camille Apparated Ginny and Elle (though excited to finally experience it, they both wished they took a porkety instead). Camille and Elle didn't expect a thing since Mrs. Weasley didn't tell them about the impromptu trip and Sandy gave her a leftover Wal-Mart bag she had.

They walked in silence until Elle actually voluntarily made conversation, a shocker for all, "Vat did you buy, Geeny?" Fleur and Ginny were at the Burrow's door when all of the sudden they look at each other simultaneously said "NOTHING!", turned the doorknob and laughed.

—

So, what ya'll think? I know it's not that good, especially compared to the first chapter, but it took a lot of work and I hope you appreciate it.

1—the sign language for go fuck a tree—learned this from a sixth grader in the musical—hands palms down, make peace signs. Turn them to face palms up (go). Put your right hand in a fist and bang the bottom of your fist on your left hand and then make a peace sign sideways on your right hand (like scissors) and ram it into your left palm (fuck). (It kind of looks like sex, the second step.) Tree is your right hand on your left elbow, your elbow straight up…you can add other things to the end…its fun! Yay for sign language!

I know Fleur seems out-of-character, but we don't really know her that well, do we? I mean, Bill probably said something on how she treated his siblings and other people, so who's to say she can't change?

Know who I based Sandy off?……Yep, its Dave the L's Gal in the flesh! I kind of made her look a combination of my sisters and my supposed future self. Don't know why she's at Victoria's Secret…She's not a Mary Sue, is she? She didn't make a _huge_ part of the story, and it's not like Harry or anyone is falling for her…and with that, could someone tell me what a canon character is?

R&R, please, but like last time, appreciative or _constructive_ only! There's no need to call me the c-word. And yes, you get a special treat…the treat of knowing you helped me with my story…

JK…don't you hate it when teachers/parents/peers say that's your reward? I just want to say, "Hell, no! I get a treat for doing this hard work, now give it to me!"

Well, Au Revoir

Dave the L's Gal, AKA The Next Broadway Diva!

P.S. Added note, I've been squealing a lot lately! Rent, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Kristen Chenoweth's Old Navy commercial—the only good one of that kind! Go Kristen! You're my hero!—are playing all the time! Anyone else exited?

P.P.S. I just watched The Wizard of Oz on the three disk thing! I love it! Go musicals! Go Judy Garland!

P.P.P.S. Isn't funny that you add a "p" to everyone as you go on? Hahahahaha

P.P.P.P.S. Sorry…currently high on a fever

P.P.P.P.P.S. 'high on a fever' means 'sick' smarties. I do not get high on anything else.

P.P.P.P.P.P.S. …Except laughter and life, I guess.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. …and _Rent_ and stuff…….

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. _Rent _comes out on DVD on February 21st! Yay!


	3. Matters of the Heart Overheard

Hey, I'm tired so I can't think of anything funny to say. Sorry.

I will say I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever…I got tied up in school, homework, friends, lessons, and now my gallbladder and wisdom teeth issues. Plus three honors classes (the most I could take without Spanish) and my friend's drama and starting high school…ugh!

**Bookworm-Air13:** I know! I'm sorry, read my above paragraph for more information.

**Elizabeth Theresa: **Thank you for the compliments and the explanation!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned _Harry Potter_, it would go more like this (and wouldn't be half as good). I also don't own _The Lord of the Flies_. That would be William Golding, but I think he's dead. So his publicist or something must own it.

**Warning: **Right now, I don't know what's going to happen. I'm just going to let it pour out.

**Chapter 3: Matters of the Heart...Overheard**

**To shake things up: Narrator's POV, Following Ron**

Ron had finally gotten out of his pajamas and was waiting for his mom to cook lunch downstairs, alone with his thoughts. _Wonder what's taking so long…Did something happen?_ Was running through his mind, but no one could blame him for being worried. Not only did they say they would be back by 12:30 and it was already 1:00, but with Lord Voldemort—You-Know-Who as most of the wizarding world called him—on the rise freely and publicly, "blood traitors" and "mud-bloods" and anyone on the good side was at danger. His family was not only on the "blood traitors" list, but was on the good side with Harry Potter, Ron's best friend. Then there was Hermione Granger, a "mud-blood" and on the good side…but every time Ron thought of Hermione his stomach did a weird flip-thing and he had to stop.

Before the last Weasley son could contemplate the matter further, two blonde females, two redheads, and one "brunette" opened the side door; Ron could hear her sister's and Fleur's laughs ringing.

The only male in the room gave them a startled look, which turned their laughs to giggles. Ginny gestured the stairs to the Fleur and they went up the steps to put their bags in their room.

Mrs. Weasley looked up at the clock. "Oh, I'm so sorry Ron. I'll make lunch for us all." But Ron suddenly realized that he wasn't hungry; his stomach still felt weird about Hermione.

—

After many different drafts and many miles made pacing around the room, Ron finally had the perfect letter to Hermione…and then some. With very much thought put into it, he wrote two letters. One that he would send Hermione and one that he used to get his feelings out so he could stop thinking about it. He wiped his ink stained fingers and started reading the letter to send, then the one he wouldn't.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. Even though we've seen each other very recently, I thought I should write since I keep on thinking about what's going on and the danger. I talked to my mother today. She said you can come over to stay whenever you want, just mail me ahead of time. Harry will come over August 1st and we'll both take the test for our Apparition licenses then. Have fun with your family._

_Miss you,_

_Ron_

_Good._ Ron thought. _Could be longer but what could I say that would make conversation?_

While thinking this over, his door opened with a bang as his older twin brothers came in. "Hello little Ronnikens!" Fred exclaimed. Ron whipped around in his chair as he said, "Oh, hi…" He lift up a book to hide the letter under, "what are you doing here?" He hid the letter under the book with a nervous laugh.

"What's that you're hiding from us?" George said as they started moving in closer.

"Dirty magazines?" Fred asked.

"Hidden love notes?" George asked as Ron blushed bright red.

"Gorden Bennet! **(Heehee…love _Red Dwarf_!)** It _is_ love notes!" Fred exclaimed. George and Fred ran and grabbed the letter before Ron could stop them.

Ron started running after them. "Fred! George! You fucking lunatics! Give it back now!"

"_Oh Hermione, I can't stop thinking about you without my stomach flipping. With all this shit going on, I keep on wondering if you're all right…_Shit? Fuck? That's not proper language for our ickle Ronnikens!" George laughed at him while levitating the letter above his head and Ginny was trying to hold in giggles.

"You need to wash out your mouth!" And before Ron could do anything, Fred used his wand to put soap in his mouth.

Without thinking, Ron grabbed his wand while the twin's couldn't see from laughing to hard at the letters. He said the spell for water to get the soap out of his mouth. He stared happily shocked to remember he was at legal age to do magic.

"_Petrificus Totalas_!" **(Sorry, I didn't want to look it up…) **Ron shouted. The two stocky red heads fell down on their back. "_Accio Letters_!" Ron started up the stairs then stopped and turned around in guilt and unfroze them.

"Obviously you forgot I can do magic now." And left them in stunned silence. Ron never stood up for himself and actually succeeded. When Ron was gone, the twins thought of an idea that would embarrass and help Ron at the same time.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Of course I am. Ginny?"

"Damn straight!" **(That has to be the best phrase ever!)**

—

After planning and planning, Fred, George, and Ginny knocked on the attic door to Ron's room. The door was answered by the lanky red head.

"What do you want now?" Ron was bright red from embarrassment.

Ginny, as part of the act, gave Fred and George a look identical to their mother. She dragged them into the bright orange room. "Fred and George have something to say to you." Ron, assuming the worst, clenched his fist around his wand. "They aren't going to do anything bad Ron." Ginny pushed them closer to Ron as she went to sit behind Ron on his bed near his desk. "What do you have to say?"

The twins hung their heads in unison and said, "We're sorry." Ron looked more confused and still held his wand tight. "We shouldn't have done that."

Ron rolled his eyes and pointed his wand at them. "What are you really here for? You're _never_ sorry, or at least you never admit it!" Ginny motioned from behind Ron to keep on going since she wasn't done yet.

George used his improvising skills from years of pranks to answer. "Er… It's just…well, your seventeen now. You're legal."

Ron rolled his eyes again. "I _know_ you aren't scared of me."

Fred butted in, "Well, we know you can do stuff that we can't, but we know you would never use it on us. If you wanted to, you could've done worse spells to us down there." Ron started to lower his wand a little.

"But the main reason we're sorry," George added, "Is because we know since you're legal, you aren't the same six year old whose teddy bear we turned into a giant spider." Ron shivered at the memory. Ginny gave the okay sign.

"So sorry mate."

Ron looked at them for a bit, but they were both sincere. He finally put his wand back in his pocket, still very confused. "Oh-okay, thank you I guess."

"No problem Ron." And with that the twins walked out, Ginny right behind.

—

It was currently midnight. Hermione was sitting over her blankets in her night time attire—comfy pink sweat pants, a white spaghetti strap shirt, no shoes, and hair in a messy bun—trying to read _Lord of the Flies_. **(Surprise, surprise. I had to read that this summer for Honors CA1 and I actually liked it the best! I expected to hate it, but I love the symbolism and everything. Me and my friend Sally, as I call her on fanfiction, were the only ones I know of who really like it.) **She pushed her glasses, which replaced her contacts at night, back to the bridge of her nose where they soon slipped again. Hermione blew out of her mouth with her lower teeth forward that raised a piece of smooth hair. She marked her page in the book and touched the piece of hair she blew on. At night, after she took a shower and brushed it, her hair was actually nice. But no matter how she slept or what she put around her head, her hair was a frizzy mess by the morning. Only girls in the dormitory and Ginny had ever seen her hair like this, besides the hours it took before the Yule Ball. If only a certain red head boy could see it like this everyday.

She shook her head and stood up to turn off all the lights in her room except for the one by her bed. Turning on her stomach, she started to read the passage she was on. Soon into it she fell asleep with her head on her book, the light still on.

—

_Tap…tap…tap…_was the sound Hermione woke up too. "What the—?" The brunette looked on down on the opened book, book marked it, and put it on the floor by her bed. She turned the clock around. In square, red numbers, it read 5:30 AM.

_Tap! Tap! Tap!_ The noises became more agitated. "Fine I'm coming" she mumbled to no one. Hermione felt her hair with a grumble as she walked to the window. It was a fizzy mess already.

Drapes were put to the side and the window was opened to let in Ron's owl Pig. Without a second thought of why he was writing first and so soon, she took the letter off Pig and put him in the little owl cage she kept for when her magical friends contacted her. He ate happily and thankfully fell asleep soon after. Hermione closed the windows to block out the cold air and covered them with drapes. Before it was 5:35, the witch was snuggled under the covers in deep sleep.

—

MWAHAHA! Now you'll have to wait until next time to find out what happens! Don't worry, I'll try to update this weekend. It's 10:05 and I need to read and summarize an article for Honors Biology, brush my teeth, wash my face, brush my hair, put in retainers, and put on lotion. TTFN, TA-TA FOR NOW!


	4. Come to Your Senses

Hello and welcome back to **Harry Potter and the Last Summer**!

I just have had some big ideas for a new chapter, so I _had_ to get on! I know it's been forever…but I've had two major surgeries, friend issues, family members over, and sickness so I could barely get online to check my e-mail.

I just realized I'll have no life after this summer…the Harry Potter series will be over and I'll just be waiting for the next movie…GRRR. I've been reading these books for seven years….half of my life! WEIRD!

It's funny. I have ideas for this but I don't want to actually write them out (I'm lazy). So I keep on moving on in my head with ideas for later on that I don't want to write since I'm not there yet.

_Come to your senses_

_Defenses are not the way to go_

_And you know_

_Or at least you knew_

--"Come to Your Senses", _Tick…Tick…BOOM!_, by Jonathan Larson, creator of _Rent_. _BOOM!_ is a semi-autobiographical musical that, in 2001, got revamped with three characters instead of one. Jonathan Larson died in 1996 before he got to see _Rent_ become a hit on Broadway. He died the night before previews started Off-Broadway for his show. May he rest in peace.

**Disclaimer:** Let's think what would happen if I owned Harry Potter? ... Hmmm…Weird…What?...Oh my God!...Ahh! My eyes! My ears! My purity! My innocence! OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY????!!!!!!!!

For those of you left, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter Four: Come to Your Senses**

Harry was lying on his bed, bored out of his mind. He knew there was a chance he would have to stay at the Dursleys in his quest for the Horcruxes, so making them nervous wasn't a good idea. Everything in his room was all broken (by Dudley) so he couldn't watch TV or do much anything unless he went downstairs.

With a sigh he got up and quickly got ready and went downstairs. He put bread in the toaster and was leaning on the kitchen counter. He noticed there was the latest edition of _The Weekly Telegraph_ and decided to read it. He soon discovered it was rather boring and pointless; no disappearances, no weird lights or sparks. Harry's eyebrows were pressing into each other as he searched for something that could be explained as Death Eaters or Voldemort. He didn't even look up when his Aunt entered the room.

"Good morning," She said with just a hint of hatred in her voice. Harry assumed she was talking on the phone or that his uncle or cousin somehow managed to walk behind him without shaking the whole room (a miracle!). "You could say something back, you know."

Harry dropped the newspaper onto the counter when he scanned every article. He turned around to get his toast out and did another 180 to face his aunt. The turn showed him that she was—strangely—talking to him.

"Um…Hi?"

Harry's aunt looked like she might say something, but she quickly shut her mouth as Dudley walked in, the kitchen seeming like it was about to implode on him.

"Good morning Duddikins!" Dudley merely grunted in return and waited for his breakfast to be served.

Harry quickly spread some butter on his toast, trying to get out of the room. "No! We are still on Dudley's diet with him!" Harry closed his eyes and breathed, trying to calm down. With his bottom teeth in front, he dropped the toast into the trash can, closing it with a clang. _Calm…calm…_ Harry walked over to the table and sat stiffly. He took the grapefruit and spoon Aunt Petunia offered him.

A little into the citrus fruit, Harry stopped paying attention to what he was doing until…

SPLAT!

Dudley was laughing, but Harry couldn't see him. He managed, somehow, to get some grapefruit onto his glasses when he wasn't paying attention.

He shrugged nonchalantly. Harry took them off and wiped them before putting them back on his nose. Quickly, he ate the grapefruit and threw the outside into the trashcan before running out into the hot summer day.

Once he got out there, however, he had no clue what to do. So he just sat down on the front step watching people go by.

That didn't last long.

The suburbia or Privet Drive drove him mad. The most interesting thing that ever happened was a bike crossing the sidewalk. He wished he was at the Burrow. There he could talk to Ron or Hermione about the journey. Or laugh his ass off at one of Fred and George's pranks. Or talk with Ginny…

_Damnit!_ He thought. He did not need to think about breaking up with the only girl that made him feel normal and happy…or give any part of his body reason to act on its own. To get his mind off the matter he started to walk around the rose bushes when Dudley left to go torture who knows who and Aunt Petunia came out with a large hat, two mini shovels, two pairs of shears, and two pairs of gloves. She stiffly handed him one of each. "Do what you normally do." With that she walked over to the opposite side of the front yard.

Harry sighed but bit his lip to avoid saying anything else. Slipping on the gloves, he fell to his knees and started pulling out weeds and trimming hedges and such.

It seemed like hours later and he was still bored out of his mind but now covered in sweat and dirt. _Nice change, huh?_

"Oh my God!!!!" Aunt Petunia screamed at the top of her lungs. Harry ran over grasping his wand in his pocket just in case. When he got to where she was he was confused. Nothing was there. _What the hell is screaming about?_

Soon he looked down and rolled his eyes. There was a simple garden snake. Without even thinking about the fact that she would probably freak out if he was kind to it, Harry bent down and picked it up.

"He won't hurt you." Harry sighed.

Aunt Petunia snorted. "I doubt that."

Yet again without thinking, Harry said, "I'll ask him." Before she could respond, Harry looked at the snake directly in the eyes. _"You weren't going to hurt her, were you?"_

The snake lifted its head up and shook it. "Told you!" Harry turned to look at her with a smug look on his face but was confronted with a shocked one. Two actually. Harry was so caught up in proving he was right—and doing something magical without getting in trouble—he hadn't felt Dudley coming up behind him.

Harry didn't want to make a big deal—and he was still used to Hogwarts where they all knew he could talk to snakes—so he said, "What?" With that he coolly walked over to where was working before the screaming.

—

The raven haired teenager was lying on his bed, muscles sore from gardening, waiting for Aunt Petunia to call for dinner. There he managed to think about one of the things he was trying to avoid thinking of: Dumbledore. He couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty. He should've really insisted on drinking that potion. He should've made Dumbledore use his blood to get in the lair. He should've done _something_ different. In a corner of his mind he knew that Dumbledore wouldn't have allowed any of that but he didn't pay attention to it. Harry got more and more upset and started to blink back tears—but he would never admit that.

While he was upset, a second miracle occurred: Dudley was at Harry's door and Harry didn't know until he knocked.

"What?" Dudley went through the door. "You could've at least waited for me to say you could enter."

"Did you send that snake out to kill me?"

_What the fuck?!_ "What?"  
"What did you tell it?" Dudley asked trying to look menacing poorly.

"Why does everyone think I'm egging a snake on just because I talk to it?" Harry muttered under his breath. He sat up and put his elbows on his knees and rested his head on his arm. "No, I did not."

"W-W-What did you tell it?"

"All I did was ask him if he was going to hurt Aunt Petunia." Harry was bored; he was sure he more than deserved to play around a bit. "And _he's _not an 'it'. His name is Herbert." Harry watched Dudley out of the corner of his eye for a reaction.

Dudley's eyes were as round as his body shape. "Oh…Uh…Okay. Do you all speak like that?"

"No. It's called Parseltongue. I'm a Parselmouth for speaking it. People tend to associate Parselmouths with evil doing but I'm an exception. Well, maybe I am." Harry turned to him and gave him a creepy smile. Dudley would be too afraid of him to refuse Harry shelter, if needed, on his journey.

Dudley started to back up almost breaking his broken items even more. He kept his eyes on Harry, "Just…just don't speak it in front of my friends." When he reached the door he ran away and could be heard running down the steps.

"SUPPER!"

Harry was happy. He didn't have to sacrifice happiness for his future.

—

When Harry got to the kitchen table Uncle Vernon was reading _The Weekly Telegraph_. Harry looked out the window and saw that it was still fairly light out. _I'll escape again after dinner. _He plopped his skinny body in his chair, a big contrast to Uncle Vernon's and Dudley's. The only female in the house plopped some boiled chicken and spinach on the table. Harry waited until Dudley and his uncle (after muttering something about "bloody school nurses") and his aunt before he took some of the healthy meal. Harry was about to take a bite hungrily—he hadn't eaten since breakfast—when—

TAP…TAP…TAP…

Under a bushy mustache Uncle Vernon could be heard saying "What the hell is that?" Harry automatically knew it was an owl and ran to window to let it inside. The bird offered the parchment on his leg to Harry who took it before the owl flew off. It didn't look familiar so it wasn't a Weasley owl and Hermione didn't have one. _Who could it be?_

Harry sat back at the table and looked at the return address. In shock he cried out, "THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC?"

Dudley chortled, "I bet you got in trouble for your Parsleteeth!"

"_Tongue_. It's Parsel_tongue_. And I shouldn't get in trouble for that. It would've come sooner. Plus it's a natural thing, b—"

"What are you talking about?" Uncle Vernon demanded to know.

"There was a snake in the garden today and I talked to him. Just for a second. It's something I can do that most wizards can't." Uncle Vernon looked like he was going to be sick. _I can't be in trouble for doing something that isn't a spell...It's natural…but so was the spell I did on Aunt Marge and _that _would've gotten me in trouble under normal circumstances._

With shaking hands Harry opened the letter.

_Harry Potter,_

_We at the Ministry of Magic would love to have you support us publicly. This will help raise morale and hope among all witches and wizards. You may be Dumbledore's man through and through but this is your duty as the public's Chosen One and the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one. Also, we will pay you one hundred galleons to show up._

_The Ministry of Magic invites you to our Seasonal Ball on the first of August. R.S.V.P. as soon as possible, as you will be our guest of honor. Feel free to bring a date._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Rufus Schrimageor_

Harry didn't know if he ever felt as pissed as he did now. He already refused this offer before and made it pretty damn clear he would not do it even with Dumbledore's death—_especially_ with Dumbledore's death. Harry hadn't even noticed he was crumpling the paper. _"What the hell are they on? I'm not doing it and I never will! Those fuckers!" _Harry threw the paper on the ground and sat down on his chair to continue eating.

For the second time that day, he was had people around him gawking. "What?" He picked up his fork and put some spinach in his mouth. He looked at Dudley's petrified face—weird, you'd think he would laugh at his outburst—and then looked up at the painting behind him. There was a sword with a snake on the hilt in the picture. Realizing that he must have looked at that when he was enraged, he swallowed his spinach. "Was I speaking in Parseltongue?" He calmly took a bite of chicken and assumed the shocked silence met yes.

"What the bloody hell is this?" Uncle Vernon asked. Harry turned to see him reading the letter. He must have picked it up after he threw it.

"Just the Ministry of Magic being complete idiots. After denying me, Dumbledore, and the Order for a year they try to get me to support them in public to raise morale."

The man scoffed. "Why would they want _you_?"

Harry was still mad as hell and didn't care realize what he was saying. "Because I'm 'the Chosen One'," Harry continued to stab his fork in his chicken and cut it roughly.

"For what?" Dudley asked as incredulous as his father.

"To kill Voldemort." The room was silent. Harry didn't say it; Petunia did.

"How did you know that?" Harry whispered after his brain catched up to what that meant.

Petunia look petrified that she said something involving magic. Looking ashamed she whispered, "I remember your mother talking about something where you would kill him."

Freaked out that his aunt knew something about him and still pissed about the Ministry, he slowly got up and left through the front door.

Harry's feet started to carry him where he normally went in these situations; the park. In the evening light Harry could see that kids were moving out of his way wherever he walked, sometimes long before he even got to there area. Apparently they still believed he went to Something School for the Criminally Insane or whatever the hell it is. Harry sat on the swing and saw the park was now abandoned since he was in it.

Well, almost abandoned. There was a girl—around twenty-five or so—walking over to him. Blond hair surrounded a heart shaped face; medium blond eyebrows arched above almond shaped sapphire blue eyes. Her pink full lips were in a smile revealing white teeth. Harry was quite confused by this woman until she sat on the swing next to him.

"Wotcher, Harry." She said with a small wink.

Harry smiled a bit. "Hullo Tonks…didn't realize people were still watching me."

She sighed and whispered, "Sometimes. With the death and all, the Order is being very protective of everyone. Hermione is being watched too, and the Burrow has some Aurors there every now and then even if there aren't any Order meetings."

Harry was still pissed off from the letter. "Of course they are following us because none of us can handle these situations on our own."

"What's wrong Harry? You seem even more angst ridden then usual." Tonks added with a laugh.

Harry shook his head. "Stupid ministry people—no offense, Tonks. Because of certain…events…they expect me to jump willingly into helping them produce lies!" The raven haired boy started to swing angrily. He decided to leave that behind. "So…is Professor Lupin here? Have you talked to him lately?"

Tonks smiled very brightly. "He's underground right now, only for a little while longer. He's doing pretty well though."

The two set in awkward silence for a while. They weren't as close as Harry was to Lupin or Hermione and Ginny were to her. _Stop thinking about Ginny damnit!_

"Why are you transformed like that? What happened to your pink hair?"

Tonks laughed, "I was trying to blend into suburbia. It hasn't been working very well. I've been asked on ten dates though." Both she and Harry laughed. "I'm now Rose Figg, niece of Mrs. Figg, visiting from the university where I'm majoring in English. That way I don't have to have any talent to prove my story." They both laughed again.

Silence.

Tonks sighed, "I don't want to do this, but I feel obligated to talk to you about this. Don't worry; I'm the only adult who knows about this."

Harry closed his eyes. _Please don't talk about the prophecy or the journey!_ "Um…What?"

"Well, even though I've been pretty miserable this past year, I've kept in touch with some people. And I've been giving advice on matters I probably shouldn't have because I don't know enough about love to begin with."

Harry opened his eyes. _What?_

"And I know that you are at a very high risk and that you want to protect those around you, but listen to me. Ginny loves you very much and knows the trouble she can be in for being with you. And she still loves you and wants to be with you. You shouldn't take that for granted, Harry."

Harry closed his eyes and sighed, "I don't want her to be hurt. If Voldemort finds out…" Harry let Tonks' own mind to come out with a horrific predicament.

"Harry…." Tonks stopped his swing and made him look at her. "You have to realize that your friends love you and don't care that they could wind up dead or hurt. Don't be like Remus…Ginny doesn't deserve to be thrown out because you feel sorry for yourself and don't want to hurt people. Ginny shouldn't be treated like I was and Remus wouldn't want you to be unhappy." Harry was about to protest, "Wait. You're going to say that Ginny will be safer without your enemies wanting to hurt anything close to you. But what about Snape and Malfoy? They knew about you and Ginny, You Know Who might already know about this. I'm not meaning to depress you, but think about it. Life is short as is and now it's can be even shorter with Death Eaters and You Know Who himself—you need to live each day like it's your last."

"H-How did you know that we even broke up?" Shock was all over the teen's face.

Tonks smiled sadly, "A girl can tell these things, Harry. I could tell by how you guys looked when you were talking. She knows why you did it but that doesn't mean she agrees with it or that she wasn't upset." The both sat in silence for a while. Harry moody and melancholy, Tonks joyful to get that off her chest. After a moment that seemed like ages, Tonks smiled mischievously. "Let's see who can swing highest!"

Harry was game for that; anything to break the awkward silence. "Okay, starting positions. On your mark…get set…"

"GO!" Tonks yelled and started swinging.

Harry laughed with her. "No fair! You started ahead of time!" The teenager did his best to catch up until they were at equal height.

"Now," Tonks yelled, "let's see who can jump the farthest!" Without waiting for Harry to approve, Tonks jumped off and landed several feet in front of the set. "Beat that, Potter!"

Harry used all his might to jump off the swing, something he had never done before. "Oh shit!" He landed just a few feet behind Tonks. "Damn!"

Tonks laughed and stood with her hands in the air. "HAHA! No one can beat the master of swing jumping!" Harry muttered another curse word. "You shouldn't curse so much Oh Golden One." She grabbed her hand and helped her up.

"The way you were talking I would've thought you were the Golden One." The raven haired boy dusted himself up and stood up straighter. He looked up and sighed at the crescent moon. "I better get back before the Dursleys think I died. No need for any heart attacks from jumping for joy."

—

What did you think? Hope it was pretty good…worked hard and long. Enjoy!

R&R S'IL VOUS PLAIT…imagine there's a little carrot accent above the "I".


	5. Les Cousines

**Harry Potter and the Last Summer**

YO YO YO!! Glad to be back! Sorry about being gone but I've had lots of shows and homework overload and work outs and practices to put in, but I want to get at least up to the wedding before the book comes out this summer. We'll see how much time I get to do it!!!

**Warnings: **Uh…lots of swearing. My rating is the equivalent of a PG-13 because I don't think language is a bad thing that needs an R to have more than two _fuck_'s in it, but some people might not think that.

**Chapter 5: **Les Cousines

Hermione was awake.

Most of the surrounding scene was normal: her eyes were blurry from no glasses or contacts and from just opening for the first time that day; the sun could be seen shining light onto the curtains of her window; the book she was reading the night before, _Lord of the Flies_, was on her night stand; the alarm clock blazed eight o'clock, normal time to wake up until the school schedule was out of her head. Everything was normal except for _how_ she woke up. The following scene happened moments ago:

The door of Hermione's bedroom creaked open as two little twins (two girls), one preteen (a girl), and a teenager (girl) opened the door. The little twins were whispering and giggling, the teenager rolling her eyes and sulking, and the preteen whispering and giggling until she saw that her older sister was uninterested and did her best to imitate the older one.

"You do it!" One of the twins whispered.

"_You _do it!" The other whispered, getting louder.

"Shut up you guys!" The preteen whispered before it could get out of control.

"Just let me do it. Idiots." The teenager said, rolling her eyes.

"Wh—?"

Hermione groaned and sat up, putting on her glasses. "Get off my bed!" she yelled at the twins jumping on her bed, angrier than normal. She could _not _stand her cousins for the life of it. She let her hair out of her ponytail; from the corner of her eye she could see that it still frizzed up, but still calmer than normal. That put a smile on her face. "You guys needed to wake me up?"

"Mother's orders Hermes." The teenage girl said with a sneer.

Hermione frowned and put on her glasses; Hannah, her teenaged cousin, always insisted on calling her that just to annoy her. She didn't mind the comparison to a god, but she didn't want to be compared to a _male _one. "Whatever. Just tell my mom I'll be downstairs after I finish getting ready."

After the door closed, Hermione collapsed back onto her bed. She couldn't shake the feeling that _something_ happened last night that she couldn't remember or think about…until she heard a very loud squeak. _Oh yeah_, she thought while she looked at Pig, _a letter from Ron._ Now she was awake enough to realize how weird it was for him to write first. Not that she minded; Hermione was a very straightforward person in her head, so she had known for years that she loved Ron. And not just how she loved Harry as a brother or Ginny as a sister or how she loved her parents. No, this was true, emotional love. It really frustrated her to because they were so close to finally getting together last year! She couldn't believe that right after that he went to Lavender. YUCK. Thankfully he broke up with Lavender sometime after that, but the moment in Herbology was lost.

She was just frustrated with love at that moment. Hermione knew that Ron liked her as more than a friend, but he didn't do _anything_. Not only was there that situation, but then Harry had to break up with Ginny to keep her safe. After months of flirting they finally got together only to break up—while they still loved each other!—a few months later. _Men are frustrating creatures_ she thought with a sigh.

Finally she grabbed the letter off her night stand, and two pieces of parchment fell out. Hermione grabbed the first one to see Ginny's neat handwriting.

_Dear Hermione,_

_The other piece of parchment is a letter from Ron which you might find shocking for him to write. The other day, Ron wrote two letters for you, but he was only going to send one. That is, until Fred and George entered the picture. They grabbed the letters and started running around and taunting him. They, of course, forgot that Ron was now of legal age and could perform magic. He did a spell on them, grabbed the letters, and unfreezed them. _

_If this was any other case, we wouldn't do anything. But I cannot tell you how annoying it is to see you two flirting and "fighting" and avoiding ever doing anything about the whole situation! Seriously, when you two _finally _get together—which better be soon from all the trouble me, Fred, and George went through—everyone will breathe a sigh of relief._

_I'm telling you this because of the letter we tricked Ron into sending. He doesn't realize that this letter was sent and not this one, so in your next letter you must explain the situation. This letter is what he really feels and the other is just small talk he wrote down. And if you two don't get together after this, I will be forced to lock you both in the attic with the ghoul until you do. _

_And don't think I won't!_

_Get down to it,_

_Ginny_

Hermione's eyes were wide open…_was it really _that_ obvious? I guess looking back it is. We always fought because Ron was jealous of Krum or because he started some schoolboy fight. _She decided she couldn't wait any longer to see what Ron wrote and started deciphering his unruly handwriting.

_Dear Hermione,_

_Hello. Well, it's me, Ron…How are you? How's summer? When will you come over to the Burrow? Of course my parents are already waiting for you to come over, but I understand if you want to spend time with your parents. _

_Hermione, I can't stop thinking about you without my stomach flipping. With all this shit going on, I keep on wondering if you're all right. Well, it's weird to finally get this all off my chest. I don't know how else to say this, so I guess I can't beat around the bush. I love you._

Hermione's heart stopped and she smiled the biggest smile she ever had and tried not to squeal.

_It took me a long time to realize that I even liked you that way. At first I thought I was just jealous that you got asked out and I didn't for the Yule Ball. I tried to tell myself that that was true, but when you said you wanted to take me to Slughorn's party, I couldn't deny it. _

_Of course I tried to deny it. I told myself that we couldn't because the whole friendship we had would be ruined forever and Harry would be a third wheel…I don't know…it's all so confusing. And then Lavender was just…there. She was just coming on so strong I couldn't do anything to stop her, and I guess hormones took over or something, I don't know…_

_Well, it's just…with the war on…I can't stop worrying if your safe and I can't stop thinking about what would happen if I didn't tell you how I felt. I know I couldn't make it through if something happened to one of us and I never even gave it a shot._

_I don't even think that this will ever reach you since I don't plan to send it. I guess it just takes more courage than I have to admit I love you. I really do Hermione, and I think that you do to. If I ever get the courage to send it, just tell me that you feel the same way._

_Love, _

_Ron_

Hermione was awed. She never thought he would ever tell her, but she was happy he had. Before she even knew what she was doing, she had a piece of parchment and a quill and an inkpot.

_Dear Ron,_

_Well, right now my cousins just arrived, and that's just perfect. Those kids are more annoying than anything else. I'm fine in general, just reading some books, like _Lord of the Flies_. It's very interesting, but it's a Muggle book so I don't think you'd have heard of it. It's very symbolic though, and great to read; it's also a requirement for Muggles our age to have read at some point or another. I'm probably going to have to stay here for a few more weeks; I haven't talked it over with my parents yet._

Hermione explained what Ginny did and told him that she had sent the letter Ginny wrote.

_Well, I never realized that we were that obvious. I always knew there was something special about you, and then I realized I liked you as more than a friend. I can't remember when I realized that I loved you. _

_I agree with everything you wrote. I can't wait to see you again, to finally be with you as a couple. Yes, I know this sounds so weird, but time could run out at any moment and I want to make the best of what time we've got. And yes, I want to be boyfriend and girlfriend or a couple or whatever sounds best…I mean, if everyone wants this so bad, it would just be evil to deny them and us._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

_P.S. Don't you ever expect me to call you Won-Won._

Hermione smiled at her letter and attached it to Pig. She was moving so fast, but she couldn't wait any longer. This was years of sexual frustration here!

"Hermione dear, are you coming down?" Hermione's mom called from the kitchen.

Hermione was confused for a moment since she was lost in her thoughts. Then she remembered that she was still at her house with her stupid cousins. She wasn't with Ron, no matter how much she wanted to be. She decided to release Pig after she had breakfast.

"Yeah, just a second."

—

As soon as Hermione entered the kitchen, she wished that she just pretended that she was sick in her room. Penny and Jenny (yes, Hermione's aunt gave them rhyming names sadly), her twin, seven year-old cousins, were bouncing around the room giggling; Jackie, her eleven year-old cousin, was trying to copy her older sister; Bretta, her fourteen year-old cousin, was tapping her foot impatiently and looking so bored Hermione thought she was in a History of Magic class.

Then, of course, there was her aunt. Aunt Helen was…well…kind of a bitch. She was always judging people and putting them down. (Sadly, Bretta had inherited this talent of hers, but at least Jackie was generally sweet, just annoying because she tried to be her sister.) Aunt Helen had bleached blond hair and was always covered in make up and wearing something "glamorous".

Hermione greeted them, doing the European bise on her aunt, and grabbed a box of cereal and semi-skinned milk. While pouring herself the cereal, she could feel her aunt's eyes on her, inspecting every inch. Hermione had chosen to wear a strapless bra under a red camisole, dark blue jeans, and didn't even bother putting on shoes. Her hair was in a new ponytail and her eyes had contacts in them. There was even makeup on her face since she knew she would be dealing with her aunt; she wore light green eye shadow, black eye liner, black mascara, a bit of pink blush, and some shimmer lip gloss.

As Hermione sat down with her bowl of cereal, Aunt Helen said, "You look great today, hon." Hermione smiled at passing her test and thanked her, making sure to compliment her appearance too.

While eating her Cheerios, Hermione inspected her cousins. All of them still had brown hair naturally, but Bretta had bleached her hair blonde like her mother. They had the same hazel eyes, except for Jackie who had green eyes. Their skin was white like porcelain and she could see their long, black eyelashes from the other side of the table. Bretta was clearly wearing make up of light brown eye shadow, bronzer, mascara, eye liner, and red lipstick.

Bretta was about the same height as Hermione and Jackie was a bit shorter and the twins were a bit shorter than her. The twins' hair was cut by their neck; Jackie's hair was slightly passed her shoulders in layers; Bretta's hair was cut in layers several inches past her shoulder and her fringe was cut bluntly across her forehead, right by her eyelash line. The twins had their father's nose and eye shape while Jackie had her mom's eye shape and her dad's nose and Bretta looked almost exactly like her mom.

It seemed that Bretta had just noticed that Hermione was there, "So, we weren't supposed to see you for two weeks. Why did your hocus pocus school let you out so soon?" Before Hermione could respond, an owl swooped in and dropped a letter.

Hermione grabbed it from instinct and looked at who it was addressed to. Her cousins and aunt looked shocked, but they quickly covered up, remembering that she was a witch. She remembered that they were there when she got her letter from Hogwarts, and her mom often bragged about Hermione being the top student of her year.

"Is it from that Ron kid?" Hermione's mom asked.

"No, I already got a letter from him." Hermione said, trying to do her best not to blush, "This is a Hogwarts school letter…for Jackie!"

Everyone turned to look at the letter. Sure enough, it was addressed to Jackie.

_Jackie Granger_

_Breakfast Nook_

_5 Robin Lane_

_South Croyden_

_London_

Hermione handed the letter to Jackie who took it with shaking hands. She tore it open and Hermione came over and read the letter. It said that she was accepted at Hogwarts, if it opened next year ("If they can find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, too,"). Professor McGonagall also added that Hermione could explain why it might not open and how to get her supplies. It also had a note to send the owl back by July 31.

Jackie was still stunned that she was to Hogwarts. Hermione knew what she was thinking; she made it clear that she was jealous of Hermione going there and being so successful. But was there a mistake? Was she really accepted to Hogwarts?

But before she could doubt it anymore, Hermione engulfed her in a hug from behind her chair. "This is so exciting! We can go to Diagon Alley and shop for your books, you can meet all my wizarding friends, you'll meet all my teachers…this is so great, Jackie!"

Jackie finally managed to speak. "I can't believe I made it!" She turned to Hermione, got out of her chair, and squealed, "I'm going to Hogwarts!!!" Jackie hugged Hermione and started bouncing up and down with her.

Then Hermione realized that Jackie needed permission from her mom. Jackie seemed to realize this too and turned to her mom and broke the hug. "Mom, please let me go. I can't just not go! Please mom! Please!!!" Jackie gave the saddest puppy dog eyes to her mother.

"I was unsure about this too, Helen, but you can't deny your daughter what she was born to be! She'll be a success at Hogwarts, I just know it." Hermione's mom looked Helen in the eye, "If she wants to go, you can't deny her."

Helen sighed and closed her eyes. A few seconds later she replied, "Of course you can go, Jackie. I want you to be happy. And if Hermione can last there, you can too."

Hermione normally would've said something back, but Jackie ran over to her mother and hugged her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you mom!!!" Then she turned to Hermione, "Can you help me reply to them?"

"Sure, Jackie, I'll just go up to my room and grab some parchment." Hermione ran up to her room and grabbed parchment and her quill and ink pot. She paused for a moment and then decided to bring down Pig and the letter to Ron; they could possibly meet in Diagon Alley.

Hermione ran down the steps with her items in hand. She placed them on the table and the twins immediately started playing with Pig, who seemed to enjoy the attention. On a piece of parchment she wrote that Jackie would go to Hogwarts and she got Jackie and Aunt Helen to sign. Hermione then showed her cousin how to attach the letter to the school owl and sent the bird into the sky.

"Here, Ron wrote to me last night. I'll see if his family could meet us in Diagon Alley sometime soon. They're all magic and know more than me about these things." She added onto her letter.

_P.P.S. We just found out my cousin Jackie got into Hogwarts! Maybe we could meet your family in Diagon Alley in the next few weeks? Just say when, since our schedule isn't full at all._

Hermione attached the rest to Pig and let him fly out the window. As she watched Pig fly away, she couldn't help but think what a wonderful day it had been. She had someone in the house she could pass on her information to! And, of course, Ron had finally said his feelings and they could start going out.

She joined the rest of the group at the table and pretended that she was listening to the conversation. Jackie couldn't contain herself and kept on jumping up and down and saying how exciting it was; Hermione's mom talked about what it was like for her and Hermione's dad and what to expect in Diagon Alley and what she knew about Hogwarts (at least, what Hermione had let her know). All this was going on around her, yet all she could think about was Ron and how happy she was that it was finally all out in the open.

And if anything went wrong, well, she would have to kill someone.

—


	6. Nothing's Ever Normal

**Harry Potter and the Last Summer**

Just realized I changed Hermione's older cousin's name! Oops! Please forgive me!

Wow! I really am so glad that people like this! I'm really hopeful that I can do what I want to do with this before the book comes out, so I was up past four in the morning writing the last chapter! I wasn't completely satisfied, but I decided to post it. When I woke up I thought, _oh crap, everyone is going to tell me to get off and stop wasting space that good stories could be taking up!_ I was more relieved than you could ever know when I saw the reviews were positive!

Okay, so I'm obviously not going to be able to put in every single day of the summer in it and every detail because that would take up too much time and be really boring. So I'm just going to skip around to the important parts of the summer. Ok? Ok.

You guys should read _What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7? _By the folks down at because it is amazing! I have such different idea now and I love the fact that a lot of what I thought is what they think will happen, too! Seriously, I didn't plan on reading it all so quickly, but I read it in a night!

**Disclaimer: **I wished I owned Harry Potter…JK Rowling is the second richest women in media! But I also love the books and I would mess them up _real_ bad if I was in charge of writing them!

**Warning: **This just goes for the whole story: I don't think cuss/swear/curse or whatever you call them words are bad so I give the T rating because I think 13 year olds (and younger kids, too) can handle seeing _fuck_ or something a few times.

**Chapter 6: Nothing's Ever Normal**

Ron was impatiently awaiting Hermione's response to his letter; just finding out how her life was going made him feel much better. Things were weird around the Burrow, so getting the normal response from Hermione would help him feel much better.

To any outsider looking in, the Burrow seemed like the normal wizarding household, but recent events left the family members—well, at least Ron—puzzled. Last summer Ginny hated Fleur with all her might, but as soon as they got back from school, Ginny and Fleur were giggling and braiding each others hair and suddenly acting like sisters. They were acting much closer than Fleur did to her actual sister Gabrielle…Elle…whatever her name was.

Then there was the fact that no one could say _Harry_ without Ginny shooting a quick glare at Ron. Of course, everyone was so focused on the wedding and Dumbledore's death that no one noticed these glares; however, if they did notice, they wouldn't know what it meant. Ron was under strict threats to not say _anything_ about Ginny and Harry's relationship. Ginny wanted it to be a secret so her brothers wouldn't go A-WOL on Harry for breaking up with her, which they would do even though he did it for her own safety.

But that wasn't the last of it, there never seemed to be a moment where the wedding wasn't talked about and planned over. Ron hadn't been dragged to a fitting yet, but he knew that was coming up soon. Fleur only wanted two bridesmaids—which, really, was all she would be able to get since there was only two girls that fit the role—but she wanted all the brothers to be in the wedding…_all _of them. That meant that Charlie, Fred, George, and himself would all be up there (Bill was trying to get Percy to come just because of his mother but no one else wanted him there). Thankfully the girls needed more fuss, but Ron was already asked his opinion on things he didn't know existed.

Sadly, that wasn't the last of the strange occurrences happening lately in the Burrow. After Ron sent his letter to Hermione, Ginny was acting even more suspicious. Whenever Ron walked by, she would ask if Hermione responded, and every time he said no. Normally he would just assume that Ginny's letter she sent with his had an important question, but Ginny had never been as annoying as she was being right then—Ron couldn't even look out the window without his little sister asking if he saw Pig out there—and her response to his response was even worse. She would just say, "Oh," and walk away giggling. Even when the subject wasn't brought up she would look at Ron and (unsuccessfully) hide a smile. Every time Ron asked why she did that she would just give him a blank look and say, "I don't know what you're talking about," and then run away.

Then a day or two later, Ron looked out the kitchen window to find that Pig was flying towards him. Soon Pig was flying around the kitchen and Ron was leaning against the counter opening the letter.

Just as he finished the letter, Ginny and Fleur entered the room to find Ron smiling goofily but looking shocked all the same. When he saw Ginny, he moved his mouth but no words came out. Then out of no where he hugged her and practically skipped out of the room with a smile on his face.

"I'll take it Hermione's written back."

—

Ron was lying on his orange covered bed and clutching the letter in his hand. He kept on reading it over and over again as if the words might have changed. Thankfully, they didn't. It was strange to realize that this was finally happening, that this was real, that things would never be normal again…but that wasn't a bad thing. _Besides, _he thought, _nothing's ever normal in my life, but I'd never change that._ It was also weird to actually be thankful for Fred and George causing a stir, since that made Ginny switch the letters. That was also weird, to be really grateful for something Ginny did. He always protected Ginny, but she often got on his nerves as little sisters are made to do. It was all just so…not normal.

The redhead turned over and rolled off his bed to write a response to Hermione.

_Dear Hermione,_

_This just seems so surreal, but I'm glad all the same. I talked to my parents and they said we could meet you and your cousin and family on the 1 of July, this coming Saturday. I thought on meeting you at 11:30 in the morning at the Leaky Caldron, so send Pig back if you can or can't, but tell us a time and date for us and I'll find a way to get there. I'm going to get my dress robes for the wedding then. You can also stay at the Burrow after that, if you and your parents are okay with that._

_Love,_

_Ron_

—

_Dear Ron,_

_I'll see you on the first, but I need to stay with my parents a bit longer. I should be able to come on the twenty-third of July, maybe sooner, though. I can't wait until then!_

_Love,_

_Hermione_

It seemed that Pig had barely gotten there with Hermione's answer when Ron was taking the Floo to the Leaky Caldron to see Hermione…and get his dress robes…yeah that mattered to him…

—

Hermione couldn't believe how nervous she was for this meeting. True, it was the first time that Ron would see her after deciding to be a "couple", but surely it couldn't be _that_ nerve-wracking!

Sadly, it was.

During the ride on the Underground, Hermione started to nervously twirl her hair. Her hair was actually not as bushy as normal; she seemed to have found a routine that worked on the massive amounts of hair on her head. Plus, she used some of her cousin Bretta's silk serum thing. The hair was now curly but not out of control, cute and relaxed.

She did the best she could to get ready for this…date? (Was it a date? It was all confusing; she just hoped that she could just spend a bit of time alone with Ron.) Anyways, she had on smoky eye shadow with black eyeliner and mascara, a bit of Bretta's bronzer on her cheekbones and brow bone, and glittering lip gloss. She wore a black and white kimono shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans that skimmed the top of black kitten heel sandals.

Hermione's mom saw her daughter's nervous habit and gave her a knowing smile. Hermione told her about Ron and her officially becoming a couple after her cousins and aunt went out to visit an old friend of Aunt Helen's. Jane Granger had never talked to him personally, but he came from a nice family and Hermione really spoke well of him. Dan Granger, Hermione's father, was just told that Hermione was also going to hang out with her boyfriend and tried to act like he knew that his only child had a boyfriend; he didn't want them thinking he didn't know anything about his own kids.

Jackie was jumping up and down in her seat next to Hermione and asking her questions every now and then that Hermione tried to answer, but she was in a daze. Next to Jackie was Bretta, reading _The Joy Luck Club_ for summer reading; the twins were on Hermione's other side, bouncing up and down with excitement to see this wizarding place; their mother was next to them, trying to hide how nervous she was about going and squeezing her husband, Jake's, hand. Uncle Jake was obviously nervous but trying to comfort his wife at the same time.

An hour later, they got off at their stop in the heart of London. Hermione and her parents were in the lead and Jackie was holding Hermione's hand. After walking for a while, Hermione spotted the Leaky Caldron. Hermione told them that they wouldn't be able to see it from the outside and led them in to the dusty building and sat them at a table a few feet away from the fireplace. It seemed like ages to Hermione—but really only a few minutes at the most—until people started entering the building from the fireplace.

Jackie was freaked out to see people inside a lit fire but did her best to cover her shock. First Ginny came out and brushed herself off; when she saw Hermione, she ran over and squealed while giving her a hug.

"Thank you, Ginny," Hermione whispered into her ear. Ginny smiled and waited with Hermione for everyone else to come.

After Ginny came Fleur, who shocked Hermione by hugging her; Bill came in after that and shook her hand; Mrs. Weasley, looking wary and tired, gave her a big hug and a knowing smile (Ginny whispered into Hermione's ear that she told her the whole situation). Hermione pointed to the table her family was situated at and the Weasley family and Fleur walked over to introduce themselves and congratulate Jackie.

A second later, Ron fell out of the fireplace. He cursed under his breath and got up, dusting off his robes in the process. Accidentally, he was faced in the wrong direction, but Hermione tapped his shoulder and he turned around.

Ron was grinning at how beautiful Hermione was and just because he was so happy they were face-to-face. He couldn't believe his luck that he was going out with such a beautiful, smart girl like Hermione.

"Hi," Ron said awkwardly, "You look great."

Before Hermione could say anything back, Ron's mouth was on her own. It was short and sweet, but the passion in it was _intense_. Hermione had to use all her restraint to not keep on kissing him so they could go over to her family. Holding hands, they walked over to the Granger's.

"This is Ron Weasley," Hermione introduced, and then nervously added, "He's my…boyfriend." Ron grinned at her. The Weasley's smiled, not shocked at all (Ginny was grinning very widely and doing a mini happy dance); Hermione's parents smiled and shook his hand ("Nice to see you again,") and her cousins had shocked smiles, they never considered Hermione the boyfriend type; Aunt Helen and Uncle Jack smiled and shook his hand after greeting the others.

They stood awkwardly for a minute until Jackie spoke. "Can we go to Diagon Alley now?"

All of them got up. Ginny, Fleur, Bill, and Mrs. Weasley led the way into to the back of the building, Jackie right next to Ginny trying to contain her excitement. Hermione's parents were talking to them from right behind them; they were followed by the rest of the Granger's, Helen and Jack looking really confused but interested. Ron and Hermione walked hand in hand at the rear. Before they went into Diagon Alley, Ron and Hermione stole a kiss since no one was watching.

—

There's going to be more about the trip in the next chapter, but I want to get this part posted now. I'm going to go swimming, so enjoy this chapter! R&R!


	7. Cousins, Gay Lovers, and Twins Oh My!

**Harry Potter and the Last Summer**

YAY! _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ at midnight on the tenth! I'm SO excited!!!! And then _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ on the twenty-first at midnight again! So excited I can not describe, but of course you guys understand! I can't believe, though, that this series I've been reading for over half my life is ending…it's so bizarre!

I'm going to try to finish this before the new book. I thought maybe if I didn't I would still continue, but then I thought that I would just be using ideas from the book and that's not going to work out well. But I'm _really_ going to try to finish it.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be so excited for the books and movies since I would already know what happens. Nor do I own _The Nightmare Before Christmas_, which is an EXCELLENT movie, nor do I own the most FUMAZING Brit-com ever, _Red Dwarf_. And yet again, I do not own _The Wizard of Oz_ or _The Pajama Game_.

**Chapter 7: **Cousins, Gay Lovers, and Twins, Oh My!

_Diagon Alley isn't what it used to be._ Hermione couldn't help but think. She had been there last year and knew it was now much more miserable, but it seemed even worse now, if that was possible (though this wasn't bothering her to much since Ron was holding her hand). She just wished that Jackie wouldn't be put off by it, but she was too excited to notice that it wasn't as happy as Hermione had described it.

Jackie's excitement was even higher when she saw Gringotts and all the goblins inside. Thankfully Bill got them around the whole security fast and they got over two hundred pounds in Wizarding money. They left the bank noticing that the security line they got to skip had only moved up a few people.

First they went to find all of Jackie's books. The witches and wizards around got a bit of a chuckle when Jackie picked up a book, looked inside, and then dropped it on the ground.

"The pictures…are they moving??!"

Jackie looked relieved after an explanation. She took up the book and then did something that made all the Weasleys laugh. Looking almost like a mini Hermione—they both had their father's looks—she opened her _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and dug her nose in deep.

"Hermione!" Ron gasped in fake shock, "Why didn't you ever tell me you had a twin?"

Hermione looked at him with a mix of laughter and you're-so-stupid and hit him lightly over the head. The she retorted, "Well, when were you going to tell my family about your twin? Just because you're not identical doesn't mean you aren't twins, you know. He will be very hurt that you didn't tell your girlfriend's family that you had a twin; Harry will think that you're embarrassed by the whole Chosen One deal."

Ron stuck at his tongue while the Weasleys and Hermione's parents laughed. The other members of the Granger family weren't paying attention and having their own conversation. Mrs. Weasley then turned around and started a conversation with Hermione's parents.

"Too true," Bill said with a laugh as they walked down the streets of Diagon Alley to get potions ingredients and a cauldron. "I thought about that the other day. You can't say _Fred_ without _George_ and vice versa. The same goes for you and Harry."

"Eet ees zo ztrange," Fleur commented. "You both zeem to 'ave affections for uzzer girlz and zuch, but mozt at 'ome with a friendship like yourz don't chase after ze girlz at all."

Hermione, Bill, Fleur, and—surprisingly—Ginny laughed so loud that the whole group stopped and turned around. Hermione thought Ginny might be hurt too much to laugh at that, but it was truly funny. Hermione and Ginny were on their knees with tears coming out of their eyes at that point. Ron looked as if all the blood in his body was now in his head. After a few seconds they got off the ground and the group kept walking down the street. Ginny, Fleur, Bill, Hermione, and Ron kept to the back and continued the conversation.

Ginny saw Ron's red face and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Ron! I'm glad someone's finally said it!" Hermione nodded through her laughter and Ginny went on, "You should hear people talk about you two! There were so many bets around when you two would finally admit it!" Ron gaped at her, "Of course, people who know you guys know that that is false, but there was so much pointing to it! People just aren't used to two guys being so close to each other at this age."

Hermione nodded and swallowed. She had stopped laughing, but she was now red in the face and was smiling brightly. The five of them waited outside the Apothecary while the Grangers and Mrs. Weasley went inside the building. Hermione then said logically, "Just look at how it looks to everyone on the outside of the friendship. You two were closer than everyone after just one train ride…"

"Hermione joined your group, but none of you ever made any moves on her," Ginny continued.

"You two spent every holiday together," Hermione added, "During the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry was more miserable than ever because you two weren't talking."

"Then you were what he would miss most in the Second Task while the two guys had a girl and Fleur had her sister." Ginny said with a sly smile. "People stopped asking questions after that; they just considered you guys a couple."

Ron was still bright red, but he seemed to have more confidence since Hermione still held his hand. In fact, he said in mock sadness, "We didn't want to tell you guys until _after _the wedding!" Ginny, Bill, and Hermione were shocked for a moment that Ron actually made a joke at his own expense, but then they joined Fleur in laughter.

"I actually think that's how the whole Won-Won situation started. I'm pretty sure Lavender actually had a crush on you but also wanted to see if you were gay or not." Ginny stated as if it was normal to talk about you're ex-boyfriend and your brother being a rumored couple.

Hermione rolled her eyes as Ron looked horrified but a bit mad that Lavender wasn't just in it because of him, "But people really should look at the facts. No one at Hogwarts really knows how bad his aunt and uncle and cousin treat him, so they don't realize that you're probably his first friend."

Bill looked at her, puzzled. "He told you that he didn't have friends? His family is _that_ bad?" Fleur looked shocked as well.

"Well, his cousin scared all of the kids they knew. Dudley still scares the neighborhood children more than anyone else, even though their parents have warned them about the Potter boy who goes to a school for criminals and the insane." Hermione said like she was talking about the weather. "He never said that he never had friends, but if you read between the lines you see that."

"Yeah, he doesn't even expect anything nice to happen. I mean, now he does since he's gotten used to it," Ron added, "But on that first Christmas he actually turned to me and said, in his high, squeaky, un-changed voice, 'I have presents?' If the students really knew him they wouldn't think he was stuck up at all. Stubborn and hot tempered, yes, but now stuck up."

"Well, there's just more proof that he's your twin, Ron," Bill said with a smile, "No one does stubbornness and temper tantrums quite like the two of you. Well, at least from what I've heard about Harry."

Once again, Ron stuck out his tongue. Bill continued, "Of course, we knew you weren't like that. The family, I mean. I had suspicions when I heard you talk about all the things you did, which really meant all the things you and Harry did. But after I met him, I realized that it was just a friendship. Plus Hogwarts must have gotten _really_ stupid because anyone could notice the sexual tension between you and Hermione within a mile."

Hermione joined Ron on the blushing train. But before they could continue, two figures ran over to them. One was a young woman with a pale, heart-shaped face with bright pink hair. She was holding hands with an older man with long, shaggy hair in patched robes. Despite the fact that Remus Lupin looked sick, he looked very happy to be holding Tonks' hand.

"Hey, Tonks, Remus," Bill greeted with a small smile, showing sharp fangs. "Someone's watching over Harry I hope?"

Tonks smiled. "Yeah, Kingsley Shacklebolt is since the Prime Minister made him take the day off."

"Have you talked to him?"

"Yeah, we had a pretty interesting time. Apparently the Ministry of Magic is still trying to get him to be their mascot, so he was more angst-ridden than usual." She said with her eyes tinkling, "But after we went on the swings and I beat him easily at jumping off, I walked him home. There was a Brightside of his angst, apparently; he accidentally spoke to a snake in his aunt's garden and started swearing in Parseltongue. After a few more shifts I noticed that now they won't go near him, even more than before, and he doesn't even have to do the gardening or wash the dishes or follow his cousins diet." She paused for a moment, "It's funny how much you find out when you pretend to be Arabella Figg's niece, therefore a good influence that can watch Harry if they go on vacation."

Tonks smiled at Ginny, Hermione, and Ron before continuing, "Which, in fact, they are going on starting today. Apparently they don't want his Aunt Marge blowing up again, so he's staying at their house and I'm watching him as Rose Figg to make sure that Harry doesn't break anything." Before their eyes, Tonks' hair grew out and turned blond; her eyes turned sapphire blue; and her lips grew a bit bigger. She smiled and bowed, "Rose Figg, niece of Arabella Figg, and English major at the University."

As soon as she finished her statement, the rest of the Grangers and Mrs. Weasley stepped out of the Apothecary. Mrs. Weasley looked a bit confused for a moment but then beamed as if a light bulb had gone on in her brain. She rushed over, "Tonks! Remus!" She hugged both of them. "I'm so glad you're here! Did you tell them the news yet?"

Before Ron, Hermione, or Ginny could answer, Tonks did. "I was just getting there, Molly," she said kindly as she transformed back to her normal look. Bretta glared in jealousy and the twins gaped and Jackie gasped. Tonks turned and smiled at her. "I assume you're Jackie?" Jackie nodded, "I'm Tonks, and this is Remus Lupin. I was born with this power of shape-shifting, but seeing as your Hermione's cousin—"

"And twin!" Ginny said with a grin.

"I'm sure you'd have found out sooner or later about that. Congratulations on the acceptance by the way." She winked and turned around.

"Now, you three," Ginny was confused at first since she wasn't normally part of "you three" with Ron and Hermione, but she caught up quickly. "Since the Dursleys are going to be gone for a few days, I'm sure Harry would love some, er, friendly company." Mrs. Weasley snorted at the mention of the Dursleys, but Tonks continued "So we thought you three could stay over there for a few days (along with me and Remus), starting tonight, and leave on next Saturday before his family returns. Ron and Ginny, your parents are obviously okay or else I wouldn't be bringing this up."

Hermione looked at her parents with a pleading look. Of course, her parents _had _to embarrass her somehow.

"Will there be separate sleeping situations for them? You know teenagers and their hormones…" Hermione's dad said. Obviously he thought it was funny since he added, "I don't need any redheaded grandchildren yet." Hermione turned bright red and smacked her forehead with her hand. Ron looked sheepish and rubbed his neck with his hand. Ginny tried her best not to laugh out loud.

Lupin smiled at them and said, "Trust me, nothing of that nature will happen under our watch. You should've met their friend Harry's parents; believe me, I've stopped wilder hormones."

Hermione's parents agreed. So they spent a bit longer getting Jackie's robes and dress robes and a wand (ten inches of yew with a dragon heartstring core) from a new wand shop that took over Ollivander's supplies. Jackie had enough galleons left, so her parents let her buy a black owl that she christened Midnight. They went to the Leaky Cauldron to relax for a bit and give Jackie her first butter beer and bought a few cases to take to the big sleepover (as Ron refused to call it) at Privet Drive.

The huge group then headed over to Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Penny and Jenny stared in awe at all of the marvelous items they could never even dream up; it was clear that if they went to Hogwarts they would follow in Fred and George's footsteps. Bretta eyed the love potions and zit zappers and hair removers while Jackie actually looking up from her book to coo over the Pygmy Puffs.

They talked briefly with the owners just to inform them that they would be Flooing from their apartment. However, when they saw Ron and Hermione's intertwined hands, they had to make a big deal out of it. They both exclaimed that they thought Hermione was actually _smart._ Fred put his hand to her forehead to make sure she didn't have a fever while George checked the records to make sure that Ron hadn't ordered a love potion. Fred went on to make sure she didn't have a concussion and George asked if Ron had used the Imperious curse. Ron brought out his wand and the twins stopped.

"Geez, just kidding, mate," George said with a smile.

"Yeah, we've been waiting for how many years now, George?"

"At least one hundred, Fred,"

"Ah yes, since it was written in a prophecy—"

"One redheaded prat will hook up with a smart Muggle-born…"

"Ergo finishing the Weasley pureblood line,"

"Thank God we won't have to be like Malfoys in our bloodline anymore…"

"Okay, we've got to go now, boys," Lupin said with a grin. "See you soon, Fred and George."

Hermione bade goodbye to her parents and the rest of her family while Ginny and Ron were getting bone crushing hugs from their mother who was afraid to part from them for another day. Finally the tree of them as well as Tonks and Lupin made it upstairs to the older twins' apartment and Flooed to the Burrow.

Tonks walked outside with Hermione and Apparated with her a little ways from her house. They ran over and Hermione packed quickly, double and triple checking that she got everything she needed. Once she was sure, she wrote a note to her parents.

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_I should be back, as you know, on Saturday, but I'm not quite sure on the time since we want to hurry over there. I'll let you know as soon as I can. Tonks and I are Apparating back to the Burrow and then all of us our Apparating near Harry's house. I don't know if I'll get to writing much, so I wanted to write something before I go. _

_Love,_

_Hermione_

_P.S. Dad, did you _have_ to say that?? _

—

Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One. Harry couldn't help but wonder what the Wizarding world would think about him if they could see him right now. Since the Dursleys had left in the morning, Harry didn't even bother changing out of his pajamas—consisting of old shorts of Dudley's he had shrunk down to fit his skinny frame and a Hogwarts T-shirt he found at Hogsmeade—despite the fact that it was six o'clock in the evening. He hadn't even bothered doing anything to his hair so it was messier than normal. Anyone could see the dark stubble poking around his chin and neck since he hadn't shaved since the day before. And to top it off, he had his plates from earlier in the day on the floor in front of the couch, where for some crazy reason he had decided to lie sprawled out across. He had no idea why he even left his sanctuary of a room, but he thought he might as well watch TV since he probably wouldn't again after the summer ended.

First he watched the news programs, but nothing seemed to be happening that really caught his attention. Then he looked at the guide and flipped through channels until he found a station playing this cool movie called _The Nightmare Before Christmas_. He had never seen anything like it since it was in clay animation and the songs were very catchy and creepy. It was definitely at the top of his favorite movies, but that wasn't saying much since the only other movie he had ever seen was some stupid movie Dudley wanted to watch for his tenth birthday.

Then he flipped on BBC 2 and watched some episodes of _Red Dwarf_, a very funny show he remembered seeing bits of as a child. Now it was even funnier since he could understand the adult humor.

Sadly, they played a few episodes then started showing something else. All the channels seemed to have nothing interesting on at all and it was bothering him. Reluctantly he turned on a movie channel that seemed to be doing a movie-musical marathon for the day. That is how the Savior of the Wizarding world found himself watching _The Pajama Game_…which was ironic, actually.

Harry used to think that life at Privet Drive would be much better if it didn't include the Dursleys. Now he realized it just bored the crap out of him.

_The Pajama Game_ was coming to an end when the doorbell rang. Harry sprung to the door, hoping to see "Rose Figg" coming in to check that the house was still in one piece. He was surprised to be greeted by not only "Rose" but Lupin, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

"Wait…_What?_" Harry asked. He gaped as they came in and dropped their things by the staircase. "Why are you…what is this…WHAT?" Harry was much to tired after not using his brain all day to comprehend what was going on. Harry followed them into the kitchen and took a butter beer that Tonks offered. "I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Tonks laughed and explained the idea ("Thank God!"). When she finished, Hermione interjected about her cousin getting into Hogwarts ("Wow, another Hermione running around? I don't think Hogwarts can take that."). And when Harry thought he would burst from information, Ginny informed him about Ron and Hermione finally getting together. Ron and Hermione blushed a bit at this information being given.

"Finally! I thought you two would never snog each other and get it over with!" Harry exclaimed with relief, "I mean, you try overhearing your friends almost get together and then one of them goes and makes out with Lavender Brown. Really!"

"I'm assuming that Ron was the one who did that or else I don't think we would be having this conversation." Lupin said with a wry smile.

"Well," Ron said, "I won't make a dirty joke out of that. Guess what, Harry? Apparently the whole school thinks we're gay lovers."

Harry choked on his drink and Lupin had to hit him on the back while he laughed heartily along with Tonks. After Ron stopped laughing from Harry's near-death choke, he told the story about the twin thing and how that evolved to the gay lover thing with help from Ginny and Hermione about remembering all the points.

Lupin smiled wide and said, "Do you have to have _every_ reputation that your father had, Harry?" All the teenagers looked up at him, startled. "James and Sirius were rumored to be lovers as well. They were related on some very distant level but they never talked because James' family was almost as big of blood traitors as the Weasleys," Lupin said, smiling apologetically at Ginny and Ron. "When we met on the Hogwarts Express it was quite an instant connection. Then we had to drag Peter along since he couldn't find other friends." Lupin said with a grim look on his face.

"Anyways, we were so close and so quickly, everyone thought that all of us were part of some gay orgy deal in the Gryffindor Tower." Ron and Harry looked really disgusted, but Lupin continued, "In fact, James dated some slut named Vicki before Lily would go out with him. That was entertaining because she thought every minute she wasn't making out with James and trying to go farther was wasteful."

"I think we all know someone like that," Harry said, thinking of Lavender.

"But for some reason she thought she was underappreciated."

"Déjà vu!" Ginny exclaimed with laughter.

"She probably thought that just because your father wouldn't go as far as she wanted to because he was in love with Lily. Anyway, when they broke up, she told him that she just went out with him for a bet to see if the Marauders really were gay."

"Let me guess," Harry said, "she told the whole school that you guys were, didn't she?"

"Yep," Lupin said, taking a big gulp of his butter beer. "That stopped after we all got girlfriends. Yes, even Peter managed to get one," he responded before Harry could open his mouth. "But between James dating a new girl every five minutes while he waited for Lily to declare his undying passion, Lily did go out with an actual gay guy. She tried to make him jealous and _that_ backfired and he admitted to her that he was gay. Of course, all the guys knew that since it seemed so obvious, but almost all the girls followed him around with the gay male population since they were clueless about his sexuality."

"I've decided," Harry said, "that people are idiots."

"Here, here!" Tonks said with enthusiasm, clunking her glass with Harry's.

"No doubt about it!" Ginny said, locking eyes with Harry as she clunked glasses.

Harry looked down at his lap. Of course he wanted to be with Ginny and she knew that. He knew that Ginny understood but was upset by the whole thing. It made him even angrier at Voldemort and the Death Eaters that he couldn't be with Ginny as much as he wanted to. Even so, he couldn't help but think about the advice Tonks gave him about life being too short, because no one, including Lupin, would want him to go through that like Lupin did.

_Lupin! _Harry thought, _I'm such an idiot! I'll ask Lupin for advice. He'd understand the most, and he's the closest thing to a parent since Sirius died._

His thoughts were interrupted by Tonks asking, "Hey, Remus, what was that bet you were talking about that you made with Sirius and James before Harry was born?"

Harry, who always loved hearing about his parents and their friends, perked up at this question. "What bet?"

Lupin smiled and took a sip of butter beer before speaking.

"Well, James, Sirius, and I were out having a drink to celebrate Lily being pregnant. Somehow the topic turned to sex…imagine that, sex and pregnancy coming up in the same conversation…" he chuckled with the others and carried on, "And we all said when we lost our virginity since we were still very young at this point, so this was always on our mind. I don't remember how the bet started since I was _very_ drunk at the time…But sometime in our drunken stupor we had a bet for if you turned out to be a boy. See, in the double standard of parenting, if you were a girl, James would make sure that this didn't happen until you married. But if you were a boy, which, well, you are, the bet would go on strong.

"So, if you haven't guessed already, the bet was on what age you would lose your virginity."

For the second time that night, Harry was hit on the back by Remus as he almost died again. Ron was roaring with laughter while Tonks grinned and chuckled. Hermione and Ginny were laughing a bit, mainly at Harry making a fool of himself for a second time that night.

Harry recovered with a grin. "Okay then. How studley did you guys think I would be? What were the bets placed at?"

The former professor smiled at the memory. "We all based it off our own age and the morals and ethics we thought James would teach you. So basically we based it off our own age when we lost it.

"Sirius hoped you would…what were his words…ah yes, 'learn the real ladies charm and not just the begging you did on Evans, James,' at which point James hit him on the head and told him to just place the bet. So Sirius thought he would bet that you it would happen on the average age, sixteen."

_Well, I've let Sirius down_, he thought with a half smile.

"Then I said that hopefully Lily would instill some manners on you even if James didn't. I bet that it wouldn't be until you married or possibly before but to the person you would end up marrying. That was the case with James."

Harry started to realize how uncomfortable it was in there. He wouldn't mind it if Ginny and Hermione and Tonks weren't in there. Sadly, they were listening intently with smiles on their face.

"James yelled at me for stealing what he wanted to bet on, so he chose the age he lost his at, seventeen."

Harry was at a loss for words. This had to be the weirdest thing ever. So, to break the silence, he said that. "That has to be the weirdest conversation I've ever had with an adult."

The table sniggered and they all did their "cheers". Nothing as interesting as that conversation happened for the rest of the night. Occasionally Hermione or Tonks would tune into the TV, but they mainly talked about the wedding and more comfortable subjects. They ordered a pizza to be delivered and they sat around the table eating, creating a few comfortable silences.

After so more talking and laughter, they decided to turn in. Harry turned off the TV and showed everyone where they would be sleeping. Tonks and Remus shared Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's room; Hermione and Ginny slept on the twin beds in the guest bedroom; and they managed to pull out the mattress from Dudley's bed so Ron could sleep on it in Harry's room.

The girls and the boys had to share a bathroom for the week, so it got a bit crowded when they were all trying to get ready for bed. Harry figured it was too crowded to shave at that moment so he just brushed his teeth and washed his face, thought his just involved normal soap. Ron and Harry furrowed their brows in amazement at all the lotions and soap and stuff that the girls brought in, but the girls just carried on the tradition that had been going on for millenniums; they just ignored them.

Hermione took out her contacts and looked Harry in the eye. "Please tell me you are shaving that thing off your chin tomorrow."

Harry grinned, "What, you don't like my scruffy look?" Hermione smiled a bit but then remembered to put on her mean face. "Yes, I am, don't worry."

Tonks and Remus bade the good night and closed the door to the master bedroom. The teenagers left the bathroom and stood in the hall. Hermione hugged Harry and then, before Ron could get that jealous look on his face, she hugged him and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Night boys," before the boys said good night back.

"Good night, Harry," Ginny said, giving him a hug. Harry used a lot of effort so his body wouldn't act on its own. Harry mumbled good night as Ginny turned to her brother, "Good night, Ronnekins," and hugged him, though he struggled for a moment. _Must be some sibling thing_, Harry thought. Ron told her good night and she walked down the hall into the guest room.

"Cousins, gay lovers, and twins, Oh my!" Hermione said loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What?"

Harry just smiled as Hermione and Ginny walked into their room and he and Ron went into his.

"_The Wizard of Oz_ was on tonight."

—

Yeah, I don't think this is that good, but I hope you like it! I did work hard, seeing as it is now 3:32 AM.

Night-Night. Sleep tight; don't let the bed bugs bite.

R&R


	8. Speed of Time

**Harry Potter and the Last Summer**

Four days left until the release of _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_!!! That means I'll have to write quickly and probably skip some stuff…I'm sorry that my writing has already suffered so much and that it's going to suffer some more. So thank you all who are actually putting up with this piece of shit!

**Disclaimer: **Why would I be so excited to read a book if I wrote it myself? Think and this would be a lot easier for all of us. If I owned _1776_, I would probably be in Minnesota watching it at the Guthrie, not in Kansas writing this. If I owned _Red Dwarf_, it wouldn't be nearly as hilarious as it is.

**Chapter 8: **Speed of Time

—

Harry awoke way too early to the sounds of Ron's snores. It wasn't like he wasn't used to the sound of air trying to escape from Ron's nostrils—how could you _not _be used to it if you spent almost all your summers and all of your school days and holidays with him?—it was just having the sounds of Ron's snores at _Privet Drive_. Sleeping in his Privet Drive bed, he wasn't hearing the loud noises of his uncle and cousin's snoring, but he was listening _Ron's_. Ron…Hermione…Lupin…Tonks…and _Ginny_ (which made him quite nervous) were at _Privet Drive_. Middle-of-Nowhere _Muggle_ suburbia…He had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't at the Burrow or Hogwarts; he was still stuck at his aunt and uncle's house.

Well, now that he was up he knew he couldn't go back to sleep. With a lot of effort, he got up and got dressed quickly; he kept his promise to Hermione and shaved. It was barely six thirty and the sun was still rising. But he was too hungry and too awake, so he decided to attempt to make some breakfast, which he hadn't done for years.

Thankfully, Harry discovered that making eggs was like riding a bike: you never forget. (Well, he assumed riding a bike was like that, he tried riding Dudley's hand-me-downs, but they were normally damaged too much.)

Harry had just finished his own breakfast when he heard footsteps. Turning around he saw Professor Lupin climbing down the steps.

"Good morning, Harry," the werewolf greeted.

"Good morning, Professor."

"I'm not your teacher anymore; just call me Lupin or Remus or Moony."

Harry smiled. He got him there. "Good morning, Moony."

Lupin smiled back. "Do you normally get up this early?" He asked as he walked over to the kitchen counter.

"God, no!" Harry exclaimed as Lupin laughed. "I guess it's just weird having people I actually _like_ at Privet Drive." He paused before asking, "What do you like in your eggs, Prof—I mean, Moony?"

"Now you don't have to do that, Harry—"

"No, it's really okay. I made breakfast until I got into Hogwarts. I haven't forgotten. Plus, you guys are my guests after all."

Lupin looked like he might argue some more, but he gave up and sat down at the table. Harry smiled along with Lupin. "We have cheese and ham and some vegetables—well, a lot of vegetables." Lupin agreed to a ham and cheese omelet, which Harry sat down in front of him after a few minutes, along with a glass of orange juice. They sat in silence as the former professor ate.

As Lupin took a final sip of orange juice, Harry took a deep breath. "P—Moony, umm…can I ask some, er, advice?"

Lupin looked a bit shocked at being asked for his own opinion. "Er…of course, Harry. What about?"

Harry looked around to make sure that they were still alone. He wasn't sure how to ask since it was so weird to talk to anyone but Hermione about his love life…well, what little he had of one in any case…Taking a deep breath, he began, "Well…er…I was talking to Tonks, and…er…she advised me on something, but I thought you might….er…understand what I'm going through better…" Lupin nodded and Harry went on, "Well, I didn't want to broadcast it, but…er…this year I, uh, started going out…with Ginny…"

If Lupin showed any surprise, Harry didn't know it since he was now examining a tile on the kitchen floor. "And at Dumbledore's funeral, I, well, I…broke it off. It's just…everyone keeps on getting hurt from just being _near_ me. First my parents, then Cedric, then Sirius, now Dumbledore…I just couldn't stand Voldemort killing her. In my second year she got taken into the Chamber of Secrets as bait since she was my best friend's sister. What would Voldemort do if he discovered that she's more than just my best friend's sister, more than a friend?

"She accepted it; I just wish I had realized how cool she was sooner so we could've had more than those weeks. And then Tonks talked to me and said that I shouldn't have broken up with her. The Weasleys are in danger anyways for being so close to me, and Malfoy and Snape," he spit out their names, "Could've told Voldemort by now. And with Voldemort gaining so much power, life is short enough as is and I shouldn't waste it. I just don't want to see anyone hurt again.

"So Tonks was saying that you went through a lot of the same things with her…and you're as close to a parent as Sirius was…So I thought I would just get your opinion on the, er matter." Harry managed, with great effort, to look at Lupin in his eyes. Lupin managed a weak smile before stretching back and closing his eyes, his hands behind his head.

"Just out of curiosity, who all know about it?"

"Ron, Hermione, Tonks, all of the Hogwarts population…maybe a few others, I don't know. I just don't want to deal with any angry redheads killing me for hurting her."

"Well, I can't say I'm too surprised about any of it, really." Harry gave him an odd look, which apparently he expected or he felt or he just felt like explaining into detail what he meant. "Ever hear of _Oedipus__Rex_, Harry?" He opened one eye to see Harry shake his head. "Well, it's one of the first tragedies, a Greek one I believe. See, Oedipus is king…well; the story is really complicated so I won't tell all of it. Basically, a prophecy was made stating that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He then discovers he caused chaos in a kingdom by killing someone he didn't realize was his father. Then he discovers that he has indeed married his mother. At the end of the play, he gouges out his eyes to punish himself.

"After seeing a performance of the play, Sigmund Freud—whom I'm sure you hear of," Harry nodded, "eventually came with a whole theory called the Oedipus complex. There's a lot to it, but it's now referenced today as a simpler theory. Basically, it's been made out to be that children look for traits for their mate in their parents. So girls are supposed to secretly want their father while boys really want their mothers. Well, just the traits of whatever sex they are attracted to.

"So, am I surprised that you like Ginny as more than a friend? Not really. I knew she liked you when I saw how she acted around you at Hogwarts. And many people end up following the Freud road. Ginny is very much like Lily, so I guess your proof that even if you didn't know your parents you can follow the Oedipus mold. They have the fiery temper, the power; they even look the same…" Lupin yawned.

"Now…you really wanted my advice, right? Well, on one hand, I can see where you're coming from with not wanting to put her danger. On the other hand, she'd probably only be _slightly_ more in danger if Voldemort discovered you were going out. I know you want to keep people safe, but she obviously doesn't care or else she wouldn't have even associated with you throughout the years or even come for the week. And I must say that I agree that life is too short to waste it without someone you love and care about.

"Well, I hoped I helped a bit. It's ultimately something you'll have to decide for yourself."

Before Harry could even think a bit more, everyone else came downstairs. He muttered a thank you to Lupin and made eggs for the lot.

—

The week went by all to fast for Harry. At least he made some good memories. Harry and Hermione taught Ginny and Ron how to work the TV remote, but they often could only find random movies (like _1776_, which Tonks knew every word to because her father was insane and made her watch it to learn the American view on independence, "I didn't realize before that they all burst out into random fits of song!") or episodes of _Red Dwarf_, of which both Tonks and Hermione were fans. Ron and Harry saw some weird handshake on some movie that they decided to imitate (the whole fist coming from above/below and then coming from below/above and then pounding the fist and "locking" it). They would sometimes walk around the neighborhood, watching all the little kids running away from the Potter boy but looking confused (and even more frightened) to see him happy.

Hermione, in secret, gave him a wizarding picture of him and Ginny. Which was quite odd seeing as he never told anyone about his photo collection of his parents and his baby self. It wasn't that he didn't want people to know, it just wasn't normal conversation. Harry put it right by a picture of him and his parents because of the whole Oedipus talk he had with Lupin/Moony/Remus.

Before any of them knew it, it was the last night of the visit. Tonks went out to buy food to replace what they'd eaten at the Dursleys and to pick up some ice cream and Italian for dinner while Lupin was taking a shower, causing the teenagers to be left alone.

All four were sitting in the kitchen since the living room was too uncomfortable for Harry to sit in too often since he rarely left his room except for the bathroom or the kitchen. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all talking about who knows what, but Harry was distracted. In midst of his Ginny crisis, he walked past his old room, AKA the cupboard under the stairs, and couldn't stop looking at it. It was hard, even after all these years, to not be upset by it. Harry hated doing the "woe-is-me" act so he never told anyone, not even Ron and Hermione. But that night proved that the secret wouldn't last long.

"Hey, Harry, you there?" Ron asked, flapping his hand in front of his friend's face.

"What? Oh, yeah, yeah, of course, yeah," Harry responded lamely.

"Harry, what were you staring at?" Ginny asked, not liking to beat around the bush.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," Harry replied.

"Harry…" Hermione's voice went off dangerously. "Just tell us what you were thinking. I'm too tired to be coy about it."

Harry sighed. "Just…the cupboard under the stairs…no big deal."

"Of course it's a big deal," Hermione said as gently as possible, "Or else you wouldn't have been staring at it. I mean, my God, you almost burnt a hole in it."

Harry thought for a moment, deciding that it wasn't worth pretending that there was some other reason that he was glaring a hole into the cupboard door. "I just…don't like the cupboard, okay?" He stopped Hermione before she could ask why, "I don't like it because it's where my aunt and uncle made me sleep until I started getting letters from Hogwarts. If it wasn't for the fact that they were afraid I probably would still be sleeping there, despite the fact that I could barely stand in there anymore." Time to send in the awkward bunnies…

"Well, I guess that's why you aren't afraid of spiders like a sane person." Ron said with a smile.

"I'm not afraid of them since I'm smart, Ronald." Harry said with a grin.

"Hey, intelligent people aren't anywhere near sane, Potter."

—

Yet again, before Harry knew it, it was July 30. He was leaving at midnight to go to the Burrow and celebrate his seventeenth birthday, but he never thought he would be upset at leaving Privet Drive. Even though it was miserable, it was his home for years and years, so saying goodbye would be difficult. Then he'd have to go on that terrible journey…Facing that wasn't something he looked forward to.

Plus, Aunt Petunia was being, dare he think it, _nice_. Dudley was sick in bed with mono (how he managed to find anyone wanting to kiss him was amazing to Harry) and Uncle Vernon was away on a business trip to America, so she didn't have to be rude to Harry since there was no one to put the show up for. She just made many acts of random kindness, which shocked and confused Harry…until that July 30.

Aunt Petunia was now being rude to him again since Uncle Vernon was back, but she stopped by his room around nine at night. Harry was sitting on his bed with his back turned to her.

"Harry?" She said, stepping into the room. Harry jumped a bit and turned around to look at her. She closed the door and slowing walked over to Harry's bed, sitting next to him.

"Well, I know you're leaving for good tonight, so…I wanted to give you this." She gave him a leather-bound book, much like his own photograph collection. Harry opened it to find Muggle photographs of his mom, his aunt, his dad, his grandparents (he assumed)…everyone. There were even some of Sirius and Lupin from the wedding.

Harry stared at shock at the album. "Thank you," he whispered, tracing his finger on a photo from his parents wedding.

"I have doubles of everything. I didn't know if you had any pictures or not, so I thought you might want it." Petunia said nervously.

Then, to Harry's shock, she pulled him into a hug. Harry didn't know what to do but to ask awkwardly, "Er, Aunt Petunia, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

She pulled herself together enough to say, "It's just…I feel so bad about how I treated you over the years. I just can't believe I hurt an innocent child just to get revenge on my sister." She took a deep breath and continued, "I was always jealous of how much she excelled and that she could do magic…I wish I was a better aunt to you, Harry."

Harry was shocked at his aunt's kind words. "It's okay, Aunt Petunia. I forgive you…and I know my mum does to." Aunt Petunia nodded and looked away from Harry. Harry wanted to make conversation, so he said, "Well, I don't have a lot from when my mom was a kid or really any Muggle," he paused, waiting to get yelled at, but when his aunt said nothing he continued as if nothing had happened. "Pictures. I do have some wizarding ones if you want to see them."

The soon to be man walked to his trunk and returned with a nearly identical leather-bound album. He pointed at all the pictures and explained who they were. Eventually they reached the end where Harry had his picture of his mom and dad from their wedding and Hermione's picture of Harry and Ginny down by the lake. They smiled the whole time and occasionally kissed, almost in tune with his parents' photo.

"Is she from that family of redheads that always greet you?"

"Yeah, that's Ginny…"Aunt Petunia didn't say anything else, but Harry knew she was thinking along the lines of Oedipus.

After a few minutes in silence, Aunt Petunia hugged him and walked to the door. She almost closed it before saying, "You should check to make sure that you left nothing here."

Harry stared at his empty room. _Like I haven't spent the last three weeks packing everything,_ he thought. Still, he obliged and checked under the bed and the loose floorboards and the other typical hiding places.

Hedwig hooted softly from her cage. Harry was thankful she did this or he would've forgotten to send her ahead to the Burrow. As Harry opened the window, he said to her, "Go to the Burrow, I'll meet you there in a few hours." Hedwig nibbled Harry's ear affectionately and flew into the night.

—

Time sped up on Harry again, and it seemed he just let Hedwig out when the clock displayed eleven fifty. Harry checked the room one last time before grabbing his stuff and turning off the lights for good in that place.

When he got downstairs he checked the cupboard to make sure that he hadn't left some long forgotten spell book or something as well as the rest of the downstairs despite the fact that he never brought anything out of his room. When every last inch was checked he joined his cousin and uncle in the sitting room, trying to control his jittering legs.

At five till, the door bell rang…five times. Harry grinned and raced toward the door. He opened it to reveal Mr. Weasley (Harry wasn't surprised that he was the one ringing the doorbell), Tonks, Lupin, and Moody.

"Wotcher and happy birthday, Harry," Tonks said with a grin.

"Five more minutes, Tonks," Harry said, smiling back.

Tonks and Lupin grabbed the trunk and carried it outside. Mr. Weasley tried to smile friendly at the Dursleys, all of whom were standing in the entryway, but Harry could tell that he didn't like their way of saying goodbye before his fourth year.

"Well," Mr. Weasley said with tight lips, "Do you want to say anything to your aunt and uncle and cousin, Harry?"

Harry had been thinking for a long time what he wanted to say and do to the Dursleys. He had come up with this while lying in bed one night.

"Well, it was tempting to wait here until I turned seventeen officially and perform some hex on you." Harry said while his cousin and uncle shrank back with difficulty. "But that would be counterintuitive to what I wanted to prove to you guys for years.

"You tortured me for no reason whatsoever, like I was a bad person since I could do _magic_." He emphasized the last word since he knew he wouldn't get yelled at for saying it with his guard there. "Just because I do magic doesn't make me a bad person. Yes, my parents were killed by Voldemort's magic, but Voldemort is an entirely different case; he's just insane. You were just being like him, judging me based off who I was born to and what I could do. Ironic, isn't it, seeing as he would like your judging but would kill you anyway for being Muggle.

"The only good thing you _did _do for me was take me in even though you wanted to throw me out. I just wish that wizards and witches are like Muggles in personalities; not all of us are bad. Goodbye." He turned to leave when his aunt grabbed him and gave him a hug.

"Goodbye, Harry. Good luck," she whispered in his ear. Harry didn't even have to ask; he knew that she was talking about Voldemort.

Petunia let him go and he walked out of the house, closing the door behind him as the clock chimed twelve. It hit him like an arrow. _I'm seventeen!_ He thought, _I can do magic legally! I'm an adult…_

He dragged his trunk in his formation on the way to Mrs. Figg's house where they were Apparating from. Mrs. Figg greeted him with a hug. "Goodbye, Harry. Good luck," she whispered like Aunt Petunia.

Harry smiled at her and bid her goodbye, too. A cat rubbed against his leg as he took out his wand. He smiled at Mr. Weasley in a pleading manner.

"Oh, all right, Harry," he said, "You've done it successfully before…why not actually perform magic legally in Privet Drive?"

The raven haired man held onto his trunk with his left hand and his wand with his right. Tonks counted down. "One…Two…Three!" And Harry was soaring out of Privet Drive for the last time of his life.

—

Okay…it's 4:08. R&R, goodnight! Barely any days left until the opening!!!!!


	9. Corrupting Harry James Potter

**Harry Potter and the Last Summer**

Three days!!!

**Disclaimer: **This is getting really repetitive…no, I don't own Harry Potter. Why the hell would I be on the (great) site of  if I was richer than the Queen?

**Chapter 9: **Corrupting Harry Potter

As soon as Harry opened the door to the Burrow he was engulfed in a motherly hug.

"Happy birthday, Harry," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Harry answered.

"Molly!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed in exasperation, "We could be Death Eaters for all you know! You have to keep asking the questions every time!"

Molly sighed. "Well, you're obviously not a Death Eater or you wouldn't have said that in the first place."

"Death Eaters are conniving people, Molly," Mad-Eye Moody chipped in, "They would do whatever it took to seem normal."

Mrs. Weasley tried to cover her rolling eyes. "Fine then, the official questions. Harry, what form is your Patronus, and why is it that animal?"

"A stag," Harry replied. "It's a stag because my dad could change into one."

"Good, good, good," Mrs. Weasley replied. "Here, come eat! My goodness! You're just skin and bones!"

Before Harry could say anything, she pushed him into a chair and gave him a bowl of warm chicken noodle soup. Harry did his best to concentrate and memorize all the question Mr. Weasley made his wife ask next for future reference. He was pretty confident that he knew what to ask if he really felt paranoid.

"Harry dear," Mrs. Weasley said after the adults joined around the table for some of her delicious soup, "Ron and Hermione have already gone to bed, but you'll be sharing a room with Ron since guests are coming in for the party. I do hope that's okay."

"Of course it is, Mrs. Weasley."

"Of course we'll give you your gifts tomorrow in a celebration."

"Oh, you don't have to, Mrs. Weasley. Just getting away from Privet Drive is good enough for me." Harry said with a faint blush he hid by lowering his head.

"Nonsense!" This time Mr. Weasley spoke, "It's your seventeenth birthday, you're legal! Of course we'll do something. Ron and Hermione were at school during their birthdays so it'll be a combination one."

Harry could think of nothing to do but smile his thanks.

After they all finished their soup and said their goodnights, Harry climbed all the way to the top of the Burrow to Ron's attic room. Ron didn't stop snoring as Harry opened and closed the door and got dressed in pajamas.

—

Harry never had a better birthday. But sadly, that too had to go quickly. Time has a tendency to speed up when you want things to last a long time and to slow down when you want nothing more than for it to be over. Harry decided he just didn't want to summer to end since he didn't want to face the fact that he wouldn't go back to Hogwarts as much as he wanted to. But like an author rushing to her due date, the days plowed on.

It was August 16, two days before Bill and Fleur's wedding. Bill was having a sort of PG-13 version of a bachelor party two days before so he could somewhat relax the next day. It was PG-13-ish because Bill wasn't the type that wanted a stripper or to watch stag films (well, that would make him Muggle anyways); he just wanted to have fun with his brothers and some friends.

So this PG-13 party took place in Ron's room since Fred and George were also sleeping in there for the night and to avoid Mrs. Weasley from hearing anything, though she was sleeping soundly with her husband in the bottom floor bedroom. (You could never be too careful with Mrs. Weasley; she had eyes on the back of her head and a natural version of Extendable Ears.) The twins brought tanks and bottles and packages of fire whiskey and other alcoholic beverages. Harry wasn't going to take one since he was used to not being an "adult", but the twins insisted he took one.

"So when you're seventeen you can also drink legally in the Wizarding world? I'm used to the counting down until you're eighteen in the Muggle world."

"Yep, seventeen makes you legal for _everything_. Even things you didn't know existed." Fred replied.

Harry decided to at least pretend that they were joking as he didn't want to know what even the twins would've thought was illegal.

He still hesitated to drink the smoky beverage. He never had alcohol before (like his aunt and uncle would let him have a sip of wine!) and wasn't sure if he liked the smell coming off it. He looked up to see Ron taking sips without any screwed up face or anything. _He probably had wine or something in his life…_

"Whatchya waiting up for, Harry?" Charlie asked.

"I've never had alcohol before…I'm not sure I'll like it."

"Come on, Harry, give it a try!" George laughed, hitting him on the back.

"Yeah, it's my bachelor party and I want to corrupt Harry Potter!" Bill said with a smile.

Harry grinned but burned a bit as all eyes the Weasley boys started at him. "Cheers," he said, raising his glass.

He tilted the goblet and let the liquid seep into his mouth. The liquid burned his mouth but not in a painful way, and then he swallowed and it burned his throat more than five fizzy drinks could. Harry was pretty sure that steam was coming out of his ears and nose as his eyes watered.

All the members of the party looked at him expectantly. "It's…I get the name."

The room chortled at the sight of the savior of the Wizarding world getting weak from fire whiskey. Harry took a few more sips before Fred and George pulled out six identical necklaces. Each one was strung with a leather cord and had a stone; the necklaces themselves seemed to glow. They handed out one necklace to each person in the room while they explained.

"Fred and I have been using these ourselves," George began.

"But we thought we should try them out with influences of alcohol and such." Fred finished.

"They're Truth Amulets," George added.

"But we want to market them as a game and the game we want to try is not fun when you know everything the other has done." Fred said with a grin.

"The game is a Muggle one called, 'I Have Never…' Each person takes turns saying, 'I have never blank,' and the players take a sip of their beverage if they have." George explained.

"So, if you're okay with this Bill, we thought it would be a fun thing to try." Bill nodded his agreement.

"Okay," George said, "first we'll do a few testing rounds."

"Just things we know are true about you," Fred interjected.

"And if they work they should make you tell the truth by taking or not taking a drink."

"So a simple test to start with," Fred thought aloud, "Okay. I have never made out with Fleur Delacour." Bill grinned and took a gulp of his liquor.

"Good, it most likely works." George thought for a moment before saying, "I have never been a prefect." Ron and Bill rolled their eyes as they each took sips.

Harry had to think of something now. "Well…I have never…" _I really could say some depressing ones, couldn't I?_ "I've never had a sibling." He finally said with a wicked smile as all the Weasleys took sips from their bottles.

Ron was next in the circle. "Ummm…I've never defied the law on underage magic." Ron said, shooting a grin at Harry. Harry was not surprised to see Fred and George take sips with him.

Bill stroked an imaginary beard before saying, "I have never lived in a Muggle household." He grinned a wolfish grin as Harry took a sip, "Corrupting Harry Potter is fun! At least your first time drunk won't be with a group of strangers."

Harry smiled as Charlie said, "I have never tried to corrupt Harry Potter." Fred, George, and Bill all took sips while the others laughed.

The circle went through several more cycles. The Weasleys and Harry both had pink patches on their cheeks and were all on different levels from tipsy to full blown drunk. Harry was very much on the far end of the spectrum.

_So this is why people get drunk_, he thought. _All loosey goosey and yeah…what…yeah. This is the perfect sleeping potion…pill…spell…whatever the hell it is._

"I've n-never," Harry said with a slur, "gotten my hair to lay flat." They were running out of good ones…well, to the redheads in the room, good ones were defined as ones that got Harry and Ron drunk. Particularly Harry.

Harry got up to walk to his bed but stumbled after taking a few steps. "Whoa!" He said. Even his brain in that state could recognize that what he said sounded very stupid. The Weasleys giggled with him as he managed to climb into his bed. He was _very_ tired at the moment. He wasn't sure he could stay up much longer until…

"I have never kissed a redhead."

Even in Harry's drunken state he panicked. He was sober enough to understand that he could get in trouble here but wasn't sober enough to do anything. Harry looked side to side to see if anyone else was taking a sip that would distract them. The Truth Amulets turned out to really work so he couldn't stop his arm from tipping the fire whiskey into his mouth. He slowly put down his bottle and spectacles as the Weasleys struggled to stay awake in their own beds they conjured (Attempting to go down the winding staircase while drunk wasn't the best thing to do). Before any of them could make a joke about him and Ron or ask he answered for them.

"Ginny."

Despite the fact that he was afraid that he would get punched within an inch of his life for stepping near Ginny—hell, even the carefree twins were protective of her—he fell asleep.

—

Okay, I'm practically falling asleep at the computer. So R&R…it's 3:07 AM and the book is almost out so I don't know if anyone will read this…but thank you anyways! I think I might write one more chapter, but I'm not sure. I might actually write some more after the book comes out.

Sleep tight!


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